


Steampunk Adventures!

by Nicolle



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Shipworks AU, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 81,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8232367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicolle/pseuds/Nicolle
Summary: From sordid mysteries to thrilling adventures, saving the Empire is all in a day's work for Frisk and Chara Dreemurr!





	1. The Reclusive Professor Bevan

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. This story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Important note: If I do not leave a context clue about which of the twins are speaking, it means they're both saying the same thing at the same time.
> 
> 2\. Rated T for violence.
> 
> 3\. The Shipworks AU appears four times in the Core Issues series. Core Issues Season Three: Episode 6 "Chara Dreemurr and the Jungles of Trul" is the last of the four. It is a one shot and doesn't require reading anything else from Core Issues. It also takes place before this episode.

Frisk and Chara's Steampunk Adventures!  
by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. This story copyright to me.

1\. Rated T for violence.

2\. The Shipworks AU appears four times in the Core Issues series. Core Issues Season Three: Episode 6 "Chara Dreemurr and the Jungles of Trul" is the last of the four. It is a one shot and doesn't require reading anything else from Core Issues. It also takes place before this episode.

Ep. 1 - The Reclusive Professor Bevan

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the inaugural episode of Steampunk Adventures! In tonight's episode, Chara, our narrator, and Frisk are introduced to Professor Levi Bevan during their eighteenth birthday party and are invited to tea. What secrets does his crowded home hold? Just who is his secretive house keeper, Jenny? What injuries is the Professor hiding? And will our heroes solve the mystery before disaster strikes? Stay tuned for: The Reclusive Professor Bevan!

xxx

I relaxed into the free fall the same way I'd relaxed into the fall on Mt. Ebott. Though this time, I wasn't looking to end my life.

I wanted to savor the rush.

The icy wind in my hair. The sting in my eyes. The feel of my clothing stretching and flapping in the descent.

I reached back and pulled the lever on my pack. The mechanism inside activated and a pair of clock work, brass wings deployed. I flipped over and glided back down to the roof of the Shipworks. The wings pulled in and I sat on the roof, watching the sunset glow over the many airships that bobbed up and down in the shipyard, my breath a white mist in the cold, March air. My brother Frisk landed next to me just as easily and we sat together, watching the orange-red sun dip low. The door to the beveled roof opened, and Dr. Gaster in his long brown coat, long brown slacks, and white button down under a floral vest poked his cracked skull out of the door.

"Boys! Your imperial sister is here to see you home."

We stood, brushing the dust of the day from our matching, pinstriped pants and followed the good doctor into the Shipworks.

Dr. W.D. Gaster's Shipworks constituted a massive hangar in which three large airships could rest, though we typically only worked on one at a time. Displayed hanging from the ceiling, and accessible from the second floor's mezzanine, were an array of smaller ships, including my little, two man flyer in all it's gleaming, brassy glory. It's small design made it highly maneuverable through the city, able to weave and bob around the tall buildings of stone, glass, and crystal that made up the St. Canard skyline.

Princess Asriel waited for us on the mezzanine dressed in one of her puffy pink and gold frocks. Azzy was a white goat monster with short, thin snout, and the softest fur in the world. She was short for her kind of monster, meaning that she was only a few centimeters taller than 177 cm me. She leaned on the railing, watching Sans work on our newest ship, the _Brilliant Phantasm_. He gave her a wave of his boney hand when he noticed her watching.

My brother and I flanked her.

"Hey, Az."

"Hey, sis! Why'd you come all the way over to get us?"

She pinched Frisk's arm gently between her claws, tugging on his white button down. "Mom wants you home tonight so she doesn't have to worry about you being cleaned up for the party tomorrow."

Frisk frowned and I sighed. He'd forgotten again. I can't say much for myself though. If Papyrus hadn't been happily reminding me every hour on the nose for the last two weeks, I wouldn't really have given it any thought either. Tomorrow was our eighteenth birthday. The planned party was to be humongous. And no one was going to let us dodge it with work.

Eighteen.

Was I really that old? That was considered a grown adult among humans, though for most types of monsters an eighteen year old was often still a toddler. Case in point, Az was one hundred and twenty and only now was just old enough to be considered an adult monster.

She put an arm around each of us, uncaring as to whether or not it dirtied her dress and marched us to gilded lift. "You both turn eighteen tomorrow and I've been on the edge just waiting to give you your presents. So if you two can make it through the big party, mom and dad have a special dinner planned for us."

Frisk's eyes and smile brightened immediately. "Ooh! What did you get us?"

"No Spoilers!" She stepped us off the lift as the gate opened. She yanked on my sleeve. "And I know you're going to love what Muffett's cooked up for you this year."

Okay. I would admit to being a tad excited. Az was great at giving gifts. Though I doubt she'd ever top the first one she'd given me: a golden, heart shaped locket with tin types of her and Frisk, and a braided lock of her imperial hair. Of the things I owned, it was the one I treasured the most, even over my little flyer. She must have caught some happiness in my expression because she smiled and kissed my cheek. We gave Papyrus and Sans a wave as we headed out the door and to the carriage home.

The next morning, Owen Larkin, the royal tailor, busied himself with checking our clothing for fit. A short man and balding, he always dressed to perfection, and smelled a bit like lilacs. Though I'm pretty sure that was his wife's perfume. I rather liked Mr. Larkin and made a point of being nice to him. He always made sure we looked our best, and, knowing where we apprenticed, took extra care that our clothing could keep up with us. In eight years of multiple adventures around the world, I'd only had one pair of torn slacks and five ripped button downs which would be considered a miracle for anyone else.

Mr. Larkin had Frisk and I turn a few times to be sure that everything fit well and, more importantly, we matched. Mom was rather insistent that we were dressed in matching clothing. It was something that humans did with identical twins and so she did it with Frisk and I. This was in spite of Frisk's penchant to bleach his hair bright yellow and dye the spiky tips pink. But even if he didn't bleach his hair it was easy to tell us apart. He was always bright and cheery, his eyes more brown than red. I was far more cynical, my eyes the color of blood.

Our clothing to his liking, Mr. Larkin affixed the royal seal to the lapels on our vests with a smile. "I'll have your new clothes ready for you next week."

"Thank you, Mr. Larkin," we both intoned.

He patted us on the shoulders as a way of pushing us to the door. "Hurry on. Your imperial mother will give me an earful if you're late today."

We both headed out of our shared bedroom and down the hall of the Summer Palace. The massive palace formed a square with an internal courtyard accessible by four arched doorways of stained glass on the first floor. Our room was on the second floor and so only looked on the courtyard from the balcony. The beautifully decorated facades of the outer walls featured two levels of white ionic columns, and the parapets of the building were decorated with statues. The entire exterior was a fabulous, bright blue-green between the white columns and white window dressings.

Inside, the majority of the public and official rooms were white with golden accents and floor to ceiling paintings. The rooms in the private residence halls were all a different color by floor. On the north side it was green on the first floor, blue on the second; red on the first and purple on the second on the south side.

There was one exception to the blue on the north side second floor and that was Asriel's room, which was purple and gold. Our room stood right next to her's and we stopped for a moment to have a quick look in the open door. We only saw Lady Anna Wharton Koll, Az's lady-in-waiting, helping Mary Rood, Az's chambermaid, clean up breakfast. Anne'd been sent by her father to serve Az in the hopes of attaining a much higher station for their noble house under Dreemurr rule. She was tall, round in the hips, olive skinned, strawberry haired, green eyed, and genuinely keen on Frisk. Mary came from the orphanage Frisk and I had called home for so many years. She'd been adopted, adoption becoming all the rage when the royal family appeared with two adopted sons. She was short, thin, dark haired, blue eyed, and bold. When she saw my brother and I on a walk through the royal gardens with Az, she marched up to our sister, and declared that she wanted to be her chambermaid... and was hired on the spot.

Both girls caught sight of us and smiled. "Happy birthday!" they called in unison.

Frisk gave them a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you!"

"Thank you," I called. We continued down the long hall to the white marble, grand staircase, and down into the main ballroom. And immediately dodged a large group of spiders with tea cakes.

"No. No. No." Muffett's hands were suddenly on our shoulders. "You are not allowed to see my creation until it's time!" She pushed us both to the right and into the hallway lining the interior courtyard. We both laughed and took the hint to have a walk in the garden until the ballroom was ready. We found a bench that wasn't covered in ice in the courtyard and Frisk took a seat while I leaned over the back.

"It's a lovely morning, isn't it?" Frisk asked.

Someone grabbed my collar and jerked me backwards. "You scruffy delinquents! You better have a good reason to be here right now and not hard at work in the ballroom!"

I reached back and gripped the man's wrist tightly. "You can insult me all you want, but you will not speak that way to my brother." I wrenched him forward. A blond man in a dark, formal suit with a light blue sash hit the ground next to the bench and looked up at me in shock.

Frisk jumped to his feet. "Chara!" He frowned. "That wasn't necessary." He gave the man a smile as he held out his hand. "Please excuse my brother. He doesn't take kindly to people who speak rudely to me."

The man knocked Frisk's hand away and stood, straightening his suit. "This is outrageous! How dare you speak so frankly with me! Do you know who I am?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and snorted. "You don't look all that important to me."

He leaned into me, putting his nose in my face. "I am Lord Landgrave Lester Lovett O'Connor III and I shall not forget this insult! When I am through, you will be discharged from your employ and be put back on the streets where you belong! I was told that the servants of the Dreemurr royal household were among the best, but I see now that they simply take in any stray."

I caught sight of a very tall, white figure behind Lord O'Connor and smiled. I leaned back against the bench with my arms crossed over my chest. "Well, I can't argue against being a stray, but my imperial mother might have something to say about it."

He turned and came face to face with a furious Empress Toriel.

"Is there a reason you are assaulting my sons, Lord O'Connor? You came here today in the hopes of becoming one of my husband's men and yet you couldn't be bothered to know the faces of his sons?"

Lord O'Connor looked at Frisk and I in abject horror and then back to Mom. "Your Imperial Majesty! I beg your forgiveness! I had no-"

"My sons' faces have appeared in numerous photographs. Paintings of both of them grace the walls of the Grand Hall. You have no excuse."

"I deeply and humbly apologize, Your Imperial Majesty."

Her eyes began to glow a bright blue. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

He looked back at Frisk and I, and I could see it in his eyes. That part that refused to believe that some riff-raff could possibly be his sovereigns. I resisted the urge to smile or tap my foot. I simply waited.

He practically spat it out, "I apologize for my rudeness, your _Imperial_ Highnesses." He turned sharply and left the garden through the door to the main ballroom. Once the door closed and Lord O'Connor was clearly out of earshot, I steeled for the earful about my attitude.

"Are you all right, Chara?"

I blinked. No lecture about being rash or at least rude? "I'm fine, but..." I frowned, confused. "Why aren't you yelling at me?"

Mom smiled, pulled me close, and hugged me tight. "He insulted and put his hands on you first." She held me at arms length to look me in the eyes. "All things considered, you were politer than you normally are."

I sighed and hugged her.

"I'll send Asriel out to get you both when the ballroom is ready." She stepped away from me to rub her nose against Frisk's before disappearing behind the door to the main ballroom.

Frisk watched as Mom headed back into the palace. "Do you think they'll send us away now?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and let my head fall to my chest with a sigh. This... this was my fault. I'd hurt him badly when I walked up Mt. Ebott. No one had wanted me, the orphanage would only let us be adopted as a pair, and I only wanted to release him of my dead weight. Instead of freeing him for a real home, I'd left him a wreck. Would he ever feel secure again? Would he always wait to be cast aside? Had I damaged his faith for good?

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Mom and Dad are not going to send us away just because we turned eighteen. We're members of the imperial family. This is our home. Now and for the rest of our lives."

Frisk frowned deeply and it was an expression I loathed to see. "Our adoption is unpopular among the human nobles. They talk to Dad all the time about how we are inappropriate adoptions. That it would be better to substitute us with two boys from a noble house. Anne really likes me, but her father would never allow her to marry me no matter what it would do for his family's rank. This would be the best time to be rid of us."

I sat next to my brother and put an arm around him. "And how does Dad react when this 'substitution' is suggested? He gets angry and the noble involved loses their title very quickly. 'Polite Society' may not want us around, but monsters and the common folk look on us as heroes. There are more that love us than those who don't."

Asriel put her arms around both of us. "We love you, Frisk. We aren't going to abandon you. The only way you will ever be moving out of your room in the palace is if you moved into a different room in the palace." She booped his cheek with her snout.

Frisk turned and hugged her.

She squeezed him tightly for a full minute before pulling us both up. "It's time! Come on!"

We followed Az into the hall outside the ballroom where she stopped us briefly to make sure our clothing was in order. I noticed that her seamstress had made Az a purple dress to match our purple vests. When she was satisfied that we looked the part, Asriel opened the arched doorway that would take us down the middle of the ballroom. I took a deep breath as we were announced by our Father and marched in with Frisk to the applause of way too many people I did not know and quite a few that I didn't care for in the least. But this was more of a public performance than an actual celebration. And it was easy to play the part of a Grand Prince when everyone was required to treat you like one.

We stopped in front of the birthday cake and, oh sweet Lord, Muffett had truly out done herself.

A giant cake replica of the airship _Planar Pearl_ stood from the table to just over my head. Every tiny detail from the crystal clear rock candy engine to the fruit leather making up the 'stained glass' gleamed impeccably. Frisk pulled on my sleeve and pointed to the upper deck of the ship. Two little fondant sculptures of Frisk and I stood at the intricately placed, sugar sculpture controls.

Frisk could barely contain his excitement. "Oh Muffett! This is fantastic!" He pulled Az over. "Look! Look! There's a little Dr. Gaster in the Captain's quarters!"

I took the spider monster's top two hands in mine. "Thank you. I don't have words to describe how absolutely marvelous this is."

Muffett beamed, all eyes closed as she blushed. The spiders who'd accompanied her danced around her legs happily at our praise. She handed me a cake knife and Frisk and I cut the first piece to signal everyone that it was time to eat. In the shuffle of people and monsters heading for the buffet tables, I felt a boney hand on my shoulder and world blinked out for a second before coming back to rights again near the dais on which the thrones were set.

Sans gave Frisk and I a wink. "*come on. there's someone here i want you both to meet."

We followed him to a corner were Dr. Gaster spoke to a small man with blond hair, brown eyes, and skin too pasty to have seen enough sunlight, in a nice suit that vaguely fit him. He looked uncomfortable to be at such a large gathering but also very happy to be talking to Dr. Gaster. The good doctor saw us and smiled.

"Professor Bevan, allow me to introduce my apprentices, their Imperial Highnesses, Grand Prince Chara Dreemurr and Grand Prince Frisk Dreemurr."

He smiled warmly at us and I instantly liked him. I offered my hand to shake, forgoing the formal custom. He looked instantly relieved and adjusted his thick glasses before shaking my hand and Frisk's. "How do you do?"

"Professor Bevan? Professor Levi Bevan?" I looked at Frisk and he smiled at me, just as excited. "Your compressed gas chambers are a work of pure genius! We used your design for the engine of the Jubilation! I'd never thought I'd get to meet you."

Sans yanked gently on the back of my vest. It was his personal way of letting me know that he thought I was doing well or approved of my actions.

Prof. Bevan looked completely taken aback. "But, you and your brother invented the device that allows airships running on aether to dispense with balloons to keep them aloft! You are both rather famous for that! I'd hoped to be able to meet you at the Babbage Forum but, you did not show."

Dr. Gaster frowned. "They did show. And on special invitation no less. They were barred admission for being underage."

I kept my smile in place and shrugged like it mattered little. It mattered a lot. We'd been very excited to present our invention. At least we were scooted out for being underage and not for being street rats. The Forum turned out a mess afterwards since we were the keynote speakers that everyone had paid to see. Frisk and I both felt bad about that, but no amount of words and official documents would get security to let us inside.

Prof. Bevan frowned and shook his head like it was a story he'd heard too often. "If I could have a moment of your time this evening, I would very much like to show you both my latest invention."

Frisk and I smiled at each other. "That'd be great!" we said in unison.

As we made the arrangements, Sans leaned in between us. "*happy birthday, kiddos."

The party couldn't go fast enough. But, as promised, Mom and Dad had a special dinner in the ballroom once the guests had left. All the monsters we'd met on our adventures Underground joined us at the table for a real feast. As Dad sat on one side of me, Papyrus on the other, I let that part of me that was always cynical go. That essential relaxation must have shown on my face because dad's big hand came down on my shoulder. Sitting next to him, I still felt like a small child, but also loved, protected, and cared for.

As the meal progressed, gifts were passed to Frisk and I. If there was anything monsters knew how to do, it was give gifts. We received a variety of items: new ice skates, leather bound journals, hand knit scarves, embroidered handkerchiefs, books, pens, and lots of monster candy.

As we headed back to our rooms to change before visiting Prof. Bevan, I realized that Asriel hadn't given us our gifts. As we passed her room, she nabbed us and handed each of us a box. I waited for Frisk to open his first and he lifted a new pocket watch from the box. He practically giggled when he saw it, having completely destroyed the last one on an adventure. He popped it open and inside was a tin type of our family together opposite the watch face.

She hugged him. "I hope that this will remind you that you have a family and that we love you."

He hugged her back. "Thanks, Azzy."

When she let him go, he headed out the door for our room. I opened my gift and found seven purple handkerchiefs with my name embroidered on them in white. I touched the thread and recognized its true nature immediately. She'd used her hair. I smiled to myself as she put her arms around me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder.

"Do you like them, Chara?"

"I love them." I turned my head a bit to look at hear face. "Thank you."

She kissed me quick and I reddened.

"Az..."

Her smile widened. I turned to her before hugging her close again and burying my face against her neck.

Her claws gently petted my hair. "You have an appointment, Chara."

I smiled. Indeed I did. "Thank you, Asriel."

A quick change and the careful placing of one of my new handkerchiefs in my vest pocket later, Frisk and I were on our way to Prof. Bevan's home near the grounds of the St. Canard University. His house keeper, Jenny, a young woman who was plainly a lady by her bearing, let us in. Her blonde hair was tucked into a tight bun underneath a white lace cap that framed a very pointed face and green eyes. I wondered what misfortune happened to her family to pull her from the realm of the aristocracy, though she didn't seem that unhappy with her circumstances.

Jenny welcomed us with a gracious smile, which I took to me that she'd been informed of who we were earlier. She showed us through a house so packed with a mass of items from common decorations to nifty devices that it was hard to pick your way through, though she did it with a very practiced ease. An assortment of colorful decorations from around the world hung from the ceiling including kites and wooden dragons. Heavily jeweled chandeliers hung among the mass. The carefully maintained path through the inventions and whirling gizmos on the floors, tables, and book shelves led us into a slightly less packed parlor.

Prof. Bevan jumped to his feet out of an overstuffed, green velvet chair. "Thank you both so much for coming! I dare say, I haven't been this excited in a long time. Come! Come!"

He pulled out a key and unlocked a door hidden in the back of the parlor. The door slid open to reveal a very clean, very open, laboratory. What I assumed was the new invention, sat on a lone table in the middle of the room over a lovely red and gold rug. He motioned us to join him at the table excitedly.

"This is my advanced protective plating device. Rather than riveting metal sheets to the sides of a ship, this device converts the metal sheets into a spray which can coat any surface in a protective plating."

My brother leaned in. "Amazing! Could we have a demonstration?"

"Of course! It is why I invited you." He opened a closet and, with Jenny's help, pulled out a scrapped wooden door. They leaned it against the wall directly in front of the plating device. With the flip of a switch the machine whirled to life. Once sufficiently warmed up, Jenny slipped a steel bar into the machine. A few moments later, it sprayed a silvery substance across the door, coating it evenly and quickly.

"Amazing!" I turned to the professor. "Can you use any metal or is the device limited to steel?"

He smiled proudly at our reaction. "Any metal! An artist could coat a sculpture in gold. A coach-maker could coat his carriages in brass. A shipwright could coat his ships in titanium."

"When will you reveal this? Are you saving if for the next fair?" Frisk asked.

"It still needs some adjustment, but I hope to have it ready for the Spring Fling." He looked to Jenny. "Would you bring in the tea?"

She nodded and disappeared for a moment only to return with a tray and a silvered tea service. We sat, enjoying a long evening discussing the device and it's applications before Wilson, a member of the royal guard, came to retrieve us.

Jenny showed us to the door. She looked overly pensive for a moment before reaching out to us but not touching. Her voice hitched for a moment. "Your Imperial Highnesses, please wait a moment. There's something I need to speak with you about."

Frisk's head turned slightly, and for a moment his eyes looked as red as mine. "Is it about the bandages on the professor's arms?"

"You saw them."

"No. I know what a bandaged arm under clothing looks like."

I turned to her fully. "He's very practiced at hiding his injuries, isn't he?"

She nodded. "Levi is afflicted by some devil. I do not know or understand the cause of it. Whenever he comes up with a new invention or an improvement on an existing one, he is viciously attacked in his sleep. Some mornings, I find him and his bed soaked in blood. I..." She suddenly looked horrified. "I beg your forgiveness! I shouldn't burden your imperial Highnesses with this matter, but I've heard stories about how you help the common folk of the realm and..." She trailed off, staring at her feet.

Levi, huh? Maybe her family hadn't lost it's social standing. Maybe she'd chosen a the life of a servant for other reasons. "How often does this occur?"

She let out the breath she'd been holding. "Once every month or two."

"Does he indicate that he's in pain during the attacks?" Frisk asked.

She frowned. "When I find him, he isn't in pain. He appears to be in ecstasy. It's only later that the pain sets in."

"Have you witnessed one of these attacks?"

Jenny shook her head.

Frisk looked at me, eyes filled with Determination. "We'll look into it. May we call on you?"

She smiled and it was somewhere between happy and relieved. "Yes. Thank you."

We headed out the door and into the carriage with Wilson. Frisk sat at the window and watched the lighted windows of the houses roll by under the starlit sky. I honestly loved it when he was like this: mind working over a mystery, challenge accepted.

I elbowed him. "Whatcha thinkin'?"

"I'm thinking we need to do some research. This could be supernatural but it could also be self inflicted. Sending himself into a strange euphoria by which he feels more creative."

"He didn't strike me as that kind of man."

"Me either, but that doesn't mean much." Frisk smiled. Oh yes, the hunt was on!

The next morning, breakfast was interrupted as Jenny came in our study with Wilson, her face a mask of grief.

Before she could speak, Frisk filled in the details for her. "It happened again last night and this time is the worst yet."

Jenny nodded, a white lace handkerchief gripped in her hands. "He's been taken to the Rosemary Medical Hospital."

Frisk wiped his mouth and stood while I stacked our plates on the tray to make Emma, our chambermaid's, life easier.

When we moved to the door, Wilson put his hands on our shoulders. "We've spoken about this before. No running off without one of the guard."

I smiled as I grabbed my coat. "I thought you were the one following us."

He sighed and followed as Frisk escorted Jenny to the palace doors and summoned a carriage to take us to the hospital. Prof. Bevan lay in a bed in a room so white it hurt the eyes. His arms, chest, and neck were wrapped in white lengths of cloth stained red. Thankfully, he was deeply asleep. A nurse came into change the bandages.

She saw Frisk and I and curtsied. "Please stand back, Your Imperial Highnesses."

We stepped to the side as she unwrapped one arm revealing the lacerations.

Frisk frowned and leaned into me, whispering, "That's not self inflicted. The edges are jagged. That was caused by a claw."

"What if he's a lycanthrope?" I whispered back.

"He doesn't present."

I frowned.

Frisk looked to Jenny. "Dear Lady, how long has this been happening?"

She shook her head, trembling. "Before I came on as his housekeeper. He hid it for a little while until I found him one morning and he admitted to the condition." She blinked, marveling at Frisk. "How did you know I was a lady?"

Frisk looked away. "Your bearing is impeccable, your accent is upper crust, and you hesitated before using our titles."

Jenny flushed and looked at her feet. "I offer my sincerest apologies."

Frisk smiled. "Accepted!" He frowned, looking back at the Professor. "We need to see the house."

The nurse turned to us. "Would you like to speak with Dr. Wakefield before you go, Sirs?"

I smiled. I liked Dr. Wakefield. "Yes, please."

Dr. Wakefield, a very distinguished gentleman who came by the orphanage once a month, was a long time friend. He lost part of the left side of his head during service in the foreign legion and replaced the missing part with a carefully constructed brass lattice that held his still intact eye in place. How he had survived the injury was something Frisk and I would discuss endlessly after every visit.

He smiled when he entered the room. "Frisk! Chara! How are you, my boys? On a mystery, are we?"

We shook hands with him, all smiles. "It's good to see you again, Dr. Wakefield."

Jenny stifled a gasp behind her hand at the sight of the man. It was pretty shocking.

Frisk's smile couldn't get any bigger. "What do you think of the wounds?"

Dr. Wakefield's mouth pressed into a thin line. "I'd call it an animal attack just by looking, but the placement is an issue." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. He sketched a quick outline of the human body and used straight lines to indicate the wound pattern on Prof. Bevan's body. "This is not an animal attack."

"That's a ritualistic placement," I said.

Dr. Wakefield nodded.

"How does it match up with previous scar tissue?" Frisk asked.

"Perfectly." He ripped the paper from his notebook and handed it to Frisk. "When you boys have unraveled this mystery, stop on by the house to tell me about it. My wife would love to see you both again." He turned to speak quietly with the nurse.

I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning back a little to look at my brother. "To the house?"

"To the house!"

Jenny was loath to leave the Professor's side, but didn't want us crashing about his overly stuffed home unsupervised. "What will you be looking for?"

Frisk pulled out the note paper and connected the wound points to make a seven point star. "This symbol. Anywhere in the house."

Wilson and I leaned in to get a good look.

Jenny frowned. "That symbol is carved on the back of his bedroom door."

"Show us, please."

She nodded and picked her way through the mass of devices and trinkets that littered the house. When she opened the bedroom door, my jaw dropped. The bedroom was the worst yet! The man was quite the pack rat. The red stained sheets of the bed had yet to be changed.

"How did you get Prof. Bevan out of here?" I asked.

Jenny smiled suddenly, proud. "Levi has a levitation device. It's very handy for getting him out of bed in the morning."

Wilson leaned in toward me. "Don't tell my wife such a thing exists."

"My lips are sealed."

Frisk closed the door to look at the star. It'd been carefully carved into wood and sanded smooth. Jewels were set at each point. Frisk pulled on a glove before touching the door. "This is a fairy star. Does the professor spend time with fae kind?"

Jenny wrung her delicate hands. "I never see anyone, but sometimes I hear a voice in the house. Whispering to Levi."

Frisk pointed to the stones. "What stones are these, Chara?"

I stepped up to the door and pulled out my loupe, examining each stone in turn. "Quartz. Staurolite. Zoisite. Beryl. Amethyst. Lapis. Opal."

Frisk wrote down what I said in one of his new journals. He snapped it shut. "Thank you for letting us see this, Dear Lady." He smiled at me. "Let's go see, Dr. Alphys."

I nodded.

Jenny showed us to the front door. She stopped me before I stepped across the threshold. "Aren't going to ask why a lady is serving like a commoner?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Unless it is information important to the problem, I don't see why it would be my business to know."

She blinked, a bit stunned.

I hopped into the waiting carriage with Frisk and Wilson.

"All over the city today," Wilson chuckled. "As usual."

I smiled. "You make it sound like you follow us around all the time."

"No. Just your Imperial Sister."

We stopped for a quick lunch at a cafe before heading into Alphys laboratory which was just on the other side of royal gardens. 'The Lab,' as it was most simply referred to, took up most of a city block. The side facing the garden resembled a cathedral with tall flying buttresses reaching down to street level while insanely tall stained glass windows reached into the sky. Each window depicted a piece of monster history starting from the first of the great kings and ending with the breaking of the barrier that sealed monster kind underground. The last one being rather dramatic since my brother and I used one of Dr. Gaster's prototype airships to smash through the barrier.

Inside, a line of desks and draft tables abutted those windows, bathing Alphys staff in the multi-colored sunlight. Where the sunlight ended a railing began, edging the massive, open laboratory. Multiple glowing green and blue tubes lined the back wall among bookshelves that reached up to the ceiling. Half way up, a mezzanine split the shelves, making a walkway that kept the ladders to the upper shelves from being dangerously tall. The floor of the lab consisted of multiple open areas devoted to multiple areas of study. Lab coated scientists and assistants moved this way and that in continual activity. And all of this could be viewed from the railing.

Alphys spotted us right away and waved us down enthusiastically. "Boys! Boys! Come quick! You must see this!"

We both ran to the stairs and slid down the curving banister on our back sides, Wilson taking his time behind us. We dodged our way around scientists and assistants running this way and that. Several stopped in their tracks to bow or do the quick head bob of those in a hurry. As soon as we made it to the lizard woman, she waved a packet of dull greenish-brown powder in our faces.

"Can you guess what this is?"

We both shrugged in the exact same way, letting her show off her particular genius.

"This! This! This is a multi-grain, healthful, single serving loaf of bread! Just add hot water!" She tore the packet open and dumped the contents into a bit of steaming water on a plate. Using the tip of her claw to stir it a bit, it bubbled up for a moment before turning into a small, dark brown loaf of bread. She tore the bread into four pieces, offering one to Frisk, Wilson, and I, before chowing down on one herself. I took a bite. It had a warm sweetness to it and the heady taste of sprouted grain.

"This tastes great," Frisk said.

"And I can think of a ton of applications for it," I added. "Rations, disaster relief, foreign aid. Heck, this would make Sister Agnes' life so much easier at the orphanage."

"Will you debut this at the next fair?" Frisk asked.

"Me? No. This is the creation of Gregory Dwyer. Hey Greg!"

A man with short red hair and suspiciously pointed ears looked down from the mezzanine. "Yes, Dr. Alphys?"

"Come down so the boys can meet you!"

He hurried over to the stairs and rushed down them nimbly on thin legs, lab coat flapping around his dark suit and red tie. He came up with a smile and his eyes would have given him away if his ears hadn't. He had the cat slit pupils of the Fae.

"These are their Imperial Highnesses, Grand Prince Frisk and Grand Prince Chara," Alphys introduced.

Mr. Dwyer's jaw dropped. He looked up at the stained glass window above and back to us, before giving a quick bow. "You two are the geniuses who figured out how to open the barrier?"

Frisk held out a hand and he took it, shaking enthusiastically before giving me the same treatment.

"I am a huge fan of your work. Your inventions have been great boons to society! I can't believe I'm actually talking to you right now!"

I held up the piece of bread I had yet to eat. "This is incredible. Are you showing it at the next fair?"

"Oh yes! I can't wait. Dr. Alphys has been so kind in letting me produce the powder for my instant bread here in the Lab. By the time the next fair arrives, I'll have enough to demonstrate and give samples to interested investors."

"Is it hard to produce?" I asked.

"Not especially. Mass production is hindered by access to materials and equipment."

"You'll have people beating down your door after you debut this," Frisk commented.

Mr. Dwyer smiled brightly. "Thank you, Sir!"

Alphys leaned against the table. "So what do I owe the pleasure of a visit today? Looking to do some research?"

Frisk nodded and pulled out his new journal. "A friend of ours was attacked last night and this is our only clue as to what might be going on. I was hoping that you might have a book on Fae symbols to tell me what I'm looking at."

Mr. Dwyer looked over Alphys shoulder. "You're looking at gibberish."

Frisk blinked. "What do you mean?"

"All Fae royal houses use this symbol, but the placement of the gems actually tells you which house and the house motto. This is a random assortment that's nice looking, I'm sure, but says nothing."

Frisk frowned and then his eyes lit up. "Would a member of the Fae have a reason to use a fake symbol? Say for example, to fool someone into a deal?"

Mr. Dwyer thought about it. "Maybe. Though I'm not sure to as to the benefit."

Alphys adjusted her glasses. "Maybe the benefit isn't something specific to the fae. Maybe it's blood ritual. Are the attacks happening in conjunction with something else?"

"Whenever he comes up with a new invention."

Frisk's head bobbed from side to side. "Wait. Let's back up a minute. The Professor said that his machine needed adjustment, but from what I saw, it didn't need any." He grabbed my arm. "What if he isn't confident in his abilities? What if someone convinced him that a blood sacrifice would increase his creativity? Jenny said he looked to be in ecstasy afterward."

"So what does the person doing this to him gain?"

"A willing sacrifice of blood for any reason results in a great amount of magical power," Mr. Dwyer supplied.

Frisk's lips curled into a very slow smile.

I jerked on his sleeve. "Got an idea?"

"Almost. Let's go have some tea so it can simmer." He turned to Mr. Dwyer and shook his hand again. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for letting us see your invention."

He shook my hand as well. "Oh, thank you!"

Alphys gave us a wave as we headed back up the stairs and to the carriage outside. I elbowed Frisk as we sat down and he gave me a smile.

Wilson regarded us with a frown. "Someone is being physically abused for power to a dangerous level. At what point are you going to report this to the Guard?"

I smiled at him. "You're with us, aren't you?"

Wilson rubbed his forehead. "On days like this, no one can convince me you aren't biologically related to your imperial sister. So what have you figured out?"

Frisk frowned. "Mr. Johnson? Please take us to Rosemary Medical." The carriage pulled out into traffic and Frisk sat back. "Some fae has convinced Prof. Bevan that his genius stems from a horrific blood ritual. We need to find that person and stop them."

"But if the Professor agrees to the exchange, why should we get in the way?" Wilson asked.

"Because if the perpetrator is doing it to one person, he's doing it to several others as well," I answered. "Check the records?"

"Check the records," Frisk confirmed.

We arrived at the hospital just as afternoon tea was in high gear. Heading into records, we found the librarian, Maggie Doyle, at her tea. She stood and curtsied quickly.

"Forgive me, Sirs. It's just that time of the day."

I waved it off. "No need to worry, Miss Doyle. We're on the hunt for something unusual and I'm pretty sure you know the answer."

She smiled brightly, plainly flattered. "Ask away!"

Frisk pulled out Dr. Wakefield's note. We are looking for the names of people who've had injuries in this configuration."

Miss Doyle took the drawing and then back at Frisk. "You mean besides Prof. Bevan?" She smiled at our shared look. "I have seen this before." She stood, happy to show off her particular talents. Taking us back into the records room, she picked up her portable information aetherscope. She punched in the data she needed and pointed the scope to the records. Five popped forward from the shelves. She pushed Prof. Bevan's record back in and pulled out the other four, placing them on her desk.

"Here we are! And..." She frowned deeply. "This isn't good. Three of these patients are in the hospital right now. The fourth one passed away this morning from blood loss."

Wilson picked up the record of the deceased. "This record indicates that the patient was in the hospital multiple times for the same injuries, but never as bad as the ones that killed her. Whoever is behind this, escalated last night. Why?"

"The spring equinox," Miss Doyle said. "Tomorrow is the day fae use to celebrate their ancestors. You could gain enough power from this sort of blood ritual to do some serious summoning of the dead."

Frisk leaned back into his heels. "Here's what we have then: a fae of some kind is faking that he or she is a member of a royal house to convince humans to go through a blood ritual from which it gains power. Last night, it escalated the ritual, leaving everyone who participates in the hospital, and killing one of them. This fae is gathering the power for what we assume to be the summoning of the dead on the equinox. Could it be for something else?"

Miss Doyle shrugged her thin shoulders. "I don't know. Try asking a fairy."

"Mr. Dwyer," we both said.

"Thank you very much, Miss Doyle," Frisk said.

"Anytime, Sirs."

Mr. Johnson leaned over to have a look at us as we got back in the carriage. "Home, boys?"

Wilson shook his head. "Back to the Lab."

"Huh. It's like I'm on a merry chase with your imperial sister." Mr. Johnson adjusted his hat and directed the carriage back into town.

The early evening sun burned through the stained glass of the Lab when we entered among the many employees looking to leave for the night. Alphys and Undyne were having a spot of tea as they waited for the end of the evening rush.

"Welcome back, Boys!"

"Hey, Punks! You ditched training this morning!"

I stuck my tongue out at her. She grabbed my face with one blue scaled, webbed hand, and yanked me down for noogies.

"Wilson! Help!"

Wilson chuckled. "Nope."

"What are you up to now?" Alphys asked.

"We were hoping to speak with Mr. Dwyer again, but it seems we've missed him," Frisk answered.

Alphys nodded. "And he'll be out tomorrow for the equinox."

I looked to Frisk as I disentangled myself from Undyne. "Now what?"

Frisk sighed, a bit defeated. "Home and dinner."

After several admonishments from Wilson not to go running off anywhere without a member of the Guard, he headed home. Frisk and I fell back on his bed, staring at the dark blue ceiling painted with golden, glowing stars.

Asriel came in and plopped down between us. "Long day?"

Frisk continued to stare at the ceiling. "Something's going on, Az, but I don't have enough information. I don't know why."

"Do you need to know why?"

We both looked at her.

"Maybe you don't need to know why. Maybe you just need to stop it."

"You're only wearing your chemise," Frisk observed.

She frowned at the mere suggestion that she was being improper. "YOU are my brother! Besides, this covers more than my bathing suit."

"She's got a point," I commented.

Az rolled toward me, propping her head on one hand with a sly smile. "Do you like this one, Chara?"

I immediately sat up. "Too far, Az!

She giggled and sat up. "You two have obviously been on a mystery, so what are the details?"

Frisk sat up. "Five people suffered an attack last night that was part of a blood ritual. Clues indicate that it is a fae pretending to be a member of a royal house and done to collect the necessary magical energy for... something."

"Sounds like someone is trying to raise the dead," Mary said from the door. She came in with Az's dinner dress over her arm. "The fae bury their dead in burial mounds. Grab a map of the city and I'll mark where."

Az stood and pulled the dress over her head, turning so Mary could adjust it on her. "Thank you, Mary."

She smiled as Frisk laid out a map of St. Canard and handed her a pencil. She marked three neat little x's on the map just outside the city limits. "There are two royal houses of fae that make a home in St. Canard and these two mounds belong to those families and their retainers. The last one is the commoners mound. If someone's up to something evil, I'd check that one first. Sister Agnes liked to tell some pretty frightening stories about some of the fae buried there."

Frisk and I moved to grab our coats, and Mary collared us.

"Oh no, you don't! You are not leaving without dinner! Or a member of the Guard to tail you! Wilson was pretty loud about that."

We both looked at Asriel and she nodded.

I frowned. "Is there a member of the Guard still here this late that we can trust? The evening Guard is made up of nobles in hereditary positions."

Mary put her arms around our shoulders. "There's me. I'll meet you at the door facing the river side of the palace after dinner." She hurried out the door.

I leaned in toward Az. "Did I miss something?"

"Yes. Her training sessions with Undyne. Mary has been my bodyguard and champion for as long as she's been here."

Frisk put his arm around Az. "Coming with us?"

She sighed. "I wish, but I have something important to deal with tonight." She headed for the door and we followed her to the family dining room. Lady Anna and her mother, the Duchess Koll, joined us for a simple meal of soup and roasted turkey with dressing.

After dinner, we found Mary waiting for us in the dark blue clothing our plainclothes guards wore at night. We headed by boat down the river to the fae commoner's burial mound.

Mary handed us forged iron knives. "Fae are hurt badly by iron. Save it as a last resort."

"Got it."

"And stop doing that talking at the same time thing you two like to do."

"Okay."

"Jerks."

We both smiled.

Mary rolled her eyes. "I've been down in the mound before, so I'll take point. The mound opens in a huge chamber. When a fae dies, the body crumbles to dust, sort of like how a monster body will after falling down. They take the dust into the mound and spread it across the chamber floor."

The boat stopped at a dock near the mound and we hoofed it the rest of the way in the gathering dark. The moon was high and bright, so we kept our torches off and stowed. Stopping at the tree line, we made sure it was clear before creeping quietly into the entrance of the grass covered mound. Silently descending a staircase, we stopped in the shadows to see five men with very pointed ears, silvery gray skin, and eyes that were little more than obsidian orbs. Goblins.

Above them swirled the magical energy of the blood rituals.

Mary put her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Her eyes narrowed and you could see her mind working. Frisk took her hand and marked the five points to note the five men. He pointed to two of the dots and then to me, two more and then to himself, and the last to her. Mary shook her head and indicated two dots for her, two for me, and one for Frisk. Frisk frowned and she put her nose in his face in silent challenge. He sighed and nodded, agreeing to her plan. We prepped at the entryway. Mary held up her hand, using her fingers to count down from three.

We leapt at the goblins. Mary and Frisk's knives took out the first marks as I grabbed mine from behind and shoved the iron knife in his back. One goblin disappeared only to reappear behind me. The goblin collared me and teleported. The world came back to rights, we hung in the air, suspended high over the shipyards. The airships I'd worked on over the years floated under us. He gave me a sharp toothed smile and let go.

I plummeted to the ground.

Spreading myself out to slow myself down and whistled as loud and as hard as I could.

Nothing.

Oh hell.

As I moved to try and direct myself toward the balloons on one of the airships, a Gaster Blaster came out of no where, grabbing me in its boney jaws. It let me down gently on the ground. I turned to give the Blaster some pets and the goblin appeared next to me.

"That's cheating."

He lifted a hand and several bones went through his arm, nearly severing it at the shoulder.

"*hands off the kid."

Sans stood there, hands in the pockets of the his long coat, left eye glowing a dangerously bright green.

The goblin bowed to him, unconcerned with the damage to his arm. "Good, sir. This fiend attacked my friends and I. The thing hardly needs your protection."

Several more bones shot out of the ground, shredding the goblin's legs.

"*no one talks that way about him. _no one_."

The goblin let out a terrible shriek before turning to dust.

Sans' glowing eye moved to look at me. "*you all right, chara?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Sans." I rested an arm on the blaster's boney snout. "Would you give me a short cut over to the fae commoner's burial mound?"

Sans put a boney hand on my shoulder and the world went black for a moment before color returned. I ran down into the mound, Sans on my heels. Mary had the remaining goblin pinned to the wall. Frisk was pacing in that nervous way he did when he thought I might be seriously injured, if not dead. He hugged me as soon as I came into view.

Sans whistled at the mass of power in the air. "*and what were we doing with all of that, hmm?"

Mary frowned. "That's my question, but he's not answering."

"i'm not surprised. he'll only speak when ordered by someone with authority over him. has Frisk tried asking?"

Mary shook her head.

Sans motioned to my brother and I. "*get crackin,' boys."

The goblin snorted, turning up his nose.

My eyes narrowed, suddenly angry. "Tell us what you planned to do with the magical energy you gathered."

The goblin looked at me wide eyed, unable to stop his mouth from moving. "We were to raise the spirits of our ancestors to attack the Royal House of Nuada." He looked at Frisk and I with undisguised horror. "Who are you?"

Mary punched him the face. "They are their Imperial Highnesses and you will address them properly!"

Frisk grabbed her hand before she could deliver another blow. "It's okay, Mary."

She glowered at the goblin, but nodded.

"*how about I dump this guy over at the house of nuada? i know a member of the royal family and he'd be real interested to know about all of this."

"What do we do with all this energy though? We can't just leave it hanging around here," Frisk said.

"*it belongs to some people right? i'll guide it out of here and it'll find it's way home."

"One of the people it belongs to died."

Sans stopped and thought about that. "*i'll talk it over with undyne."

He put a hand on the shoulder of the goblin and they disappeared.

Mary, Frisk, and I trudged back down to the boat. The danger passed, I noticed the cut on Mary's arm.

"Hey. Let me bandage that."

Mary waved me off. "I'm fine, hero. The doctor will patch me up back at the palace."

Frisk put an arm around her as the boat pulled up the palace dock. "Thanks for the help."

She put her arms around both of us. "If this is the kind of trouble you two are getting into all the time, I'm going to ask Undyne to switch me from Asriel to you two!"

I pulled her up to the dock. "You know Asriel would kill us right?"

Mary punched me in the arm. "So where did the goblin teleport you too?"

"Over the shipyards."

"Over?" Frisk said, horror dawning on his face.

She cringed. "I shouldn't have asked."

We headed inside only to be mobbed by several servants, Asriel directing them. "Get them cleaned up quickly! The Lord of House of Nuada will be here any minute!"

"Asriel! Mary needs stitches!"

Someone shoved a cinnamon bunny in Mary's mouth, while Frisk and I were stripped and redressed in formal attire. The change finished, Mary's wound was checked to see that it was properly healed before she was powdered, made up, and put in a proper dress.

Asriel marched us to the throne room.

Mary trembled. "Asriel? What's going on?"

"The Lord of House of Nuada is coming to thank you three personally for ending a threat to his house."

Mary suddenly looked deathly pale. "So why do I have to be there? I'm a just a nameless servant."

"Who's name was specifically mentioned. You can kick Sans for that later." Az stopped us in front of the throne room doors and checked the three of us one last time before signalling for us to be announced.

Mary gripped my hand tightly. I took her arm so she looked like I was escorting her, while she held on to me desperately.

Frisk put a hand on her back. "Breath, Mary. Breath."

She nodded too quickly as the doors opened. We walked in to see Mom and Dad standing at the throne with a very tall, very slender fae. His skin looked like soft tree bark and leaves poked here and there from the long white hair that hung loosely over his gold accented, gray robes.

Dad held out a hand to us. "I present my sons, Grand Prince Chara and Grand Prince Frisk Dreemurr. And I present Mary Rood, a member of the Imperial Guard."

The head of the House of Nuada smiled warmly. "I thank you for the service you have rendered to my house and my family. Your actions have saved a great many lives and forged a deep alliance between our families."

He motioned with long fingers that resembled tree branches for a servant to step forward. "I invite the three of you to be my special guests tomorrow at our grand ball."

Mary's grip began to hurt.

"There is no honor I can bestow upon Your Imperial Highnesses that would equal your already lofty state. So in the place of such a thing, I offer you these gifts instead."

The fae servant with her cat slit, green eyes stepped forward, and handed a box to Frisk.

Those long tree branch fingers took Mary's hand in his and MAry stopped breathing. I discreetly changed position to keep her on her feet. "For you, dear lady, I will confer damehood in the Most Noble Order of the Oak tomorrow during our Equinox celebrations."

"Thank you," she managed.

He smiled and stepped back. "I will take my leave so that you may have a good night's rest before tomorrow's festivities." He turned to Mom and Dad. "Your Imperial Majesties. Thank you for receiving me so late in this evening. You have raised fine children." He swept out of the room, followed by his servant.

As soon as the door shut, Mary's eyes rolled up and her knees gave out. I caught her, lifting her bridal style.

Mom leaned over to dad. "Pay up, Gorey."

I looked between my parents. "What?"

"He bet me that Mary would pass out before the Lord left the room."

"Mom!"

She giggled behind her hand as Frisk waved a smelling salt under Mary's nose.

Asriel helped right her. "We will send a carriage for you in the morning, Mary, and get you ready for the ball here."

Mary nodded as Asriel took her arm and walked her out of the throne room.

Dad put his huge hands on our shoulders. "You two head off to bed."

We nodded and headed into the hall, trudging up to our room. Lady Anna stood outside our door, waiting. She smiled when she saw Frisk and handed him a wrapped box.

"I, um... I know it's a little late, but I wanted to finish them. I hope you like it."

Frisk smiled and gently pulled the bow before carefully opening the wrapping. Inside were seven, ruby red handkerchiefs, each one embroidered with Frisk's name. "They're extraordinary! Thank you."

She smiled brightly before hurrying away to her room.

I leaned over to get a better look at the handkerchiefs. "She used her hair."

Frisk held them close. "I know." He looked down at them with a happy smile.

xxx

We hope you enjoyed today's adventure! Join us next week as Frisk and Chara are called to help friends of Dr. W.D. Gaster in 'The Terror Underground!'


	2. The Terror Underground!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep. 2 - The Terror Underground!

Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight on Steampunk Adventures, Frisk, our narrator, and Chara are forced to choose Gentlemen of the Bedchamber. The interview process turns deadly as the boys are called upon to help the Crawford and Sons Mining Company. What will they find in dark caves so far beneath the ground? Where do the mysterious doors lead? And are the interviewees friend or foe? Find out this and more in 'The Terror Underground!'

xxx

My bed in the palace was HUGE. Literally HUMONGOUS. I was a not short 177 cm and felt TINY in this thing! Granted, the bed with it's soft, night blue sheets and hand stitched quilts was made to fit a family, and there were some particularly cold nights I crawled in with my brother or vice versa.

I sat up in bed, half under covers, and wondering if my bleached out, pink tipped hair looked anything like decent. Emma, the lovely woman who cared for our room and kept our things in order, opened the night blue curtains and let in the bright, spring, morning light. Not that we left a lot for her to do. In the St. Canard Orphanage, Sister Agnes taught us very early to pick up after ourselves and keep our things clean and orderly. Emma was tall, plain, had a bit of gray touching her brown hair, and very sweet. And she had a knack for knowing what we would need at any particular moment.

Chara was sleeping in. Which was super unusual for him. He typically hit the floor running in the morning. Today, the night blue curtains around his bed where shut. His desk by the window littered with his Arabic language work. Asriel had mentioned briefly that she wanted an Ancient Egypt exhibit for mom and dad's Christmas present, and Chara had thrown himself into learning Arabic in order to help with the arrangements. That was my brother. The polyglot. I wasn't sure how many languages he knew. He never bragged about it. He just always seemed to know the language we needed when we needed it.

Emma pulled the curtain aside to look in and smiled. She let it drop before sending a runner down the hall for a carafe of the strongest coffee in the kitchen. "You will be at the Shipworks for a few days, correct?"

"Yes. We have a new ship in development." The _Summer Song_ , Papyrus' latest design, was a pleasure ship made for comfortable city or countryside touring. It was one of our smaller ships by far and would easily fit in the plaza, even with the large fountain in the center.

I scooted to the edge of the bed and stood to make it. Emma came up on the other side, tucking in the sheets and blankets in time with me. "I packed you both heavy coats."

"It's firmly spring outside. I didn't think it was going to get that cold."

She smiled. "Have I ever packed you something that you didn't need, Frisk?"

I thought about that. "No. Never."

"Exactly."

Zachariah, Emma's twelve year old son, came in the room balancing a tray with a coffee filled carafe and three cups. Emma poured a cup of coffee for Chara, lifting and lowering the carafe as she did to waft the heavy aroma around the room. She set the cup on the night stand next to his bed. My brother's hand reached through the curtains to take the cup before disappearing again. Emma poured a cup for me and one for herself while we waited for Chara to emerge.

A few loud gulps later and Chara pushed the curtain aside to wince at the sunlight hitting his face. "Thanks, Emma."

Asriel came running into the room with Toby, the family pet. "Good Morning!"

Toby, a Japanese Spitz, jumped into my lap for petting. "Good Morning, Az."

She plopped down into a chair. "Have you picked a Gentleman of the Bedchamber yet?"

Chara and I flinched. Truthfully, we'd been avoiding it. A Gentleman of the Bedchamber was the male equivalent of the Lady of the Bedchamber or, more commonly, Lady in Waiting. It was supposed to be someone a male member of any noble family trusted to keep both appointments and secrets, a true friend. Dad wanted us to pick a human for the job, but that meant slogging through a lot of families who didn't particularly like us and their eligible male members who might sabotage us if not out right poison us when we weren't looking.

Asriel sighed. "I figured. Here's the bad news: Dad has twenty eligible men and boys for you both to meet in the grand ballroom. The good news is that you can put them through whatever kind of interview process you want."

Chara smiled, red eyes gleaming, and jumped out of bed. "My time has come!" He sat down at the table opposite Az and lifted the lid on his breakfast dish.

Thirty minutes later, we were dressed for a day at the Shipworks which included matching brown, heavy slacks, white cotton button downs, brown leather vests, and heavy boots. We stood in the ballroom with me giving Chara a worried look. Chara hadn't explained what he was going to do, but I knew that smile. This wasn't going to be pretty.

I looked over the twenty in front of us. Four were grown men too old to really be spending time around us. They had that queer look about them that said they were interested more in the opportunity to move themselves ahead socially than actually be of use to us. Three of them were mere boys, who looked equal measures nervous and excited to be in the Summer Palace. One of the boys barely looked ten years old.

Chara blinked at him. "How old are you?"

"Nine years old, Your Imperial Highness."

"And your parents thought it would be appropriate to send you?"

"Mom thought you'd like me better than my uncle, Sir." The boy indicated one of the grown men who was had just a few too many wrinkles to be the friend of a much younger man.

"I do." Chara skipped the imperial 'We' and pointed to the boy's uncle. "You're out."

Dad stifled a chuckle, a rather amused smile on his face.

Chara skipped the formal introductions and went right for the throat. "Any interested parties must be willing to assist us at the Shipworks. My imperial brother and I will be heading there today for a stint that will last seven days. It's important to us that any second be able to have a basic understanding of the work we do and be able to converse with us in it. Now is as good a time as any for applicants to get their feet wet, as it were."

The grown men had a universal look of horror, contrasted by the boys who were suddenly bright eyed and bushy tailed. The response from the majority was a mixed bag of dismay and interest. Chara immediately outed anyone who didn't look interested. That left us with four men our age and the three boys.

I stepped in, gathering the boys close. "You three are too young for this job and the Shipworks is not a place for you to be."

They frowned but nodded, heading off with a member of the imperial guard.

Chara looked at the remaining four. "Introduce yourselves."

They looked at each other for a moment before one rolled his eyes and stepped forward. He gave the formal bow, which accentuated how very tall and thin he was. His long red fringe fell in his sharp face, covering a pair of yale blue eyes. "Stephen Keenan Plant. I'm the second son of the Duke Philip of Vanhallow."

A second one, much shorter, but just as thin, found his bravery and came forward with a full bow. His hair was black, a very uncommon thing among the aristocracy, but he had lighter colored eyes. "Evan Ormsby Shale. Third son of Sir Alfred Wickfield Shale."

The third, a bit too plump to be able to help around the interior crew spaces of an airship, gave the less formal head bow. "Oscar Fitz Lawrence. Son of Lord Rookmore."

The fourth, timid beyond belief, gave an awkward bow. White hair surrounded his pale blue eyes and made his pale skin look particularly icy. That coloring was the mark of being a human of Fae lineage and one that was very close to the source. "Cephas Hope Durrant III. I'm the son of Lord Ravendenn."

I could see the gears turning in Chara's mind, working out friend from foe. Though it usually turned out to be foe by default. I always let him remember those kind of things. I didn't like to think of someone a bad from first impression or family reputation, but I knew I could trust Chara's judgement in this, even if he was being a wad about it.

Chara turned to me. "Would you ask Mary to bring some tea to the drawing room, please?"

I raised an eyebrow but nodded. I was never good on the uptake when Chara was in this mood, but Mary could catch Chara's drift in a second and say exactly what he wanted her too without being told. Chara motioned for the four to follow him to the drawing room. On the way, he tapped the shoulders of two of the imperial guardsmen to follow. I looked to dad and he seemed pleased. I gave him my brightest smile and called for Mary before following my brother, wondering what trick he had up his sleeve. Inside the drawing room, the four sat down at the small dining table Az and I liked to take tea together when my brother and I were home.

The guards who followed us into the room were unusual picks to say the least. Sir Almon Iarnelis of House Nuada had begged entrance to the guard to show his gratitude for the service Chara, Mary, and I had very accidentally done for the Fae House. He had the wood bark skin of his people, looking very much like an elm tree, but lacked the long, thin, tree branch hands of the ranked members. The second, Sir Romik, was a dog monster though not related to the other dog monsters in the royal guard. His deep loyalty to Chara and I had been demonstrated swiftly and with style the last time someone had insulted us in his presence.

Mary came into the room with a silvered tea set. Zachariah stepped carefully after her balancing a tray of petite cakes.

Chara sat back, sipping his tea. "What do you think of them, Mary?"

Oh. A multi-faceted attack! My anxiety rose but so did my curiosity. I wanted to see how prejudiced they were to commoners, how much they knew about current events, and if they would pick up the subtle hint that Mary wasn't just a servant but a member of the palace household.

Mary glanced at Chara for a moment while she poured a cup of tea for me. "I don't like any of them."

The response was instantaneous.

"Ungateful Trollop!" Oscar yelled as he stood. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are to even be in this room?"

Evan snorted. "Trollop? She's little more than a base whore."

I stood, knocking over my chair. I wasn't going to let anyone talk that way about another person and least of all a friend.

But Sir Almon beat me to it and had Evan against the wall in an instant. "You will not speak in such a manner to Lady Mary!"

Sir Romik simply lifted Oscar from his seat by his collar. "You will not speak to a member of the imperial guard like that." He opened the door and dropped him on his bottom in the ballroom. "Undyne, ma'am? This one has failed His Imperial Highness' test of honor. There is a second as well, though I'm not sure Sir Almon will let him down."

"Make an apology, you ass!" Stephen growled. "Dear Lord, how do you not know who she is? Dame Rood was honored by the Fae during the Equinox Ball. She's of higher rank than your father. She's even wearing the brooch that denotes her station!"

I looked at Cephas. He was curled in on himself, trying to make himself small and unnoticed. Evan looked too afraid to do anything but hyperventilate.

Mary sighed and set down the tea. She gently placed a hand on Sir Almon's arm. "Please let him down, Sir Almon. It is better to let Undyne drag him away in disgrace than have him sully such a beautiful room with his presence any longer."

Sir Almon stepped back, letting Evan slide to the floor. Romik lifted him up and dumped him outside the room. Sir Almon held out a hand to Mary and when she placed her's in it, he lifted her knuckles to his lips for a swift kiss. Even though it had been the three of us honored during the Equinox festivities, the Fae had taken an instant and fierce liking to Mary. Even the common fae were enamored with her, often gathering at the gates to catch a glimpse of her about her duties. I wasn't sure if it had been her sudden timidness in the presence of the Fae royalty or that she'd managed to say just the right things at just the right times. But whatever it was, they were very proud of her inclusion among their ranks.

Sir Almon and Sir Romik went back to their places, while Mary retrieved the tea pot and finished pouring tea for Cephas.

She held out the cup to him and his hands shook as he took it. Mary smiled patiently. "It's all right. You've passed His Imperial Highness' test. You can relax."

He nodded nervously and sipped the tea. Stephen watched her with interest as she finished serving the tea and left, Zachariah in tow.

Chara looked at me with a smile. I returned it with a sour look. At least the unpleasant bit was over with. I hoped. I took a breath. "We'll be heading to the Shipworks in less than an hour. While we won't expect you to be doing any of the work to start, we will be expecting you to pay attention and learn the gist of what we do. Don't interrupt Dr. Gaster, Sans, or Papyrus when they speak. If you have a question, wait until they are done talking to ask."

Both nodded.

"When you've finished with your tea, let your families know to send clothing along for you." I thought about Emma. "Have them send a heavy coat as well."

Chara raised an eyebrow at me. "We're working on a new ship, no traipsing into the unknown."

I shrugged. "It's what Emma packed for us."

"Oh?" Chara nodded. "Well then. Pack like you're going some where cold."

Thirty minutes later we were met at the gates by Asriel with our packs and four small bags. She handed one to each of us as we climbed into the carriage.

Cephas carefully pulled the drawstring on the bag open. "Candy?"

"Monster candy," I said. "It will heal you if you're hurt. Keep it on you."

Chara stuck his nose in his bag. "Mmm. Raspberry this time."

"Is that significant?" Cephas asked, deeply interested. "Does one flavor heal more than another?"

I shook my head. "It just means Asriel made this batch. When Lady Anna makes it, it's always cherry flavored. When Mary makes it, it's always strawberry flavored. Mom's batches are always butterscotch, and Chiko, the head chef, makes it grape flavored."

Cephas looked at a piece of the candy, turning so it shined like a jewel through the wrapping. "So, anyone can learn to make monster candy?"

I nodded. "It's not especially difficult. Just time consuming with crushing the fruit for the flavors."

Chara elbowed me. "Speaking of fruit, remember when we'd go to help out on the Orville Farm in exchange for shares for the orphanage?"

"Oh yeah! Mary and little Ceil eating more strawberries than they picked!" We both laughed.

Stephen blinked, honestly confused. "Mary's an orphan?"

I nodded. "She was abandoned, though not by the usual means. Her father was a baker, her mother a milner, and both rather well off. They died in a carriage accident and her older brother dropped her at the orphanage before disappearing with the inheritance."

"The Dibdin family adopted her during the 'craze,' but didn't make her an actual member of the family." Chara scowled. "She was unpaid labor they dolled up on occasion to make a good show of things."

"She moved into the palace just after the Equinox. Things were..." I searched for the politest way to say it. "Rather complicated for her after the knighting."

"She just moved in?" Cephas asked, incredulous.

Chara snorted. "She's bold, but not that bold!" He smiled. "You'll find very quickly that my imperial sister can sniff out anything you'd rather hide. She noticed that Mary wasn't acting her normal self, found out why, and sent members of the guard to retrieve Mary's possessions."

The carriage pulled up to the shipyards and I jumped out, elated to be back. The Shipworks comprised a massive shipyard and one large hangar surrounded by a tall, black iron fence. The gate itself made several beautiful flourishes around the white painted name wrought into the gate: W.D. Gaster's Shipworks. Multiple air ships rested either on the ground or floated in the air in various stages of construction or repair. The majority of the ships currently in the yard were pleasure cruisers commissioned by travel agencies and liner companies. Those came in many sizes depending on the order but all had a similar interior build that was made to be luxurious and comfortable. There was one battle ship, as commissioned by my father's minister of defense. After the demonstrated effectiveness of the Nova Star during a short lived crisis, he'd been keen on adding more flying ships to the fleet.

Chara looked up at the ships floating over our heads and waved to a couple of the shipwrights, getting several waves in return. Stephen and Cephas both simply stared.

I stifled a laugh. "You have to have seen a flying ship before!"

Stephen pushed his red fringe out of his eyes. "Vanhollow is in the far north. We don't have them. I was told such a thing was impossible."

"I've never seen so many different kinds of ships before!" Cephas said.

"How do they stay up?" Stephen asked.

Chara pointed, indicating different ships as he answered. "Depends on the ship. Some with balloons. Some with large propeller blades. Some with the Aether Synthesis Module. Some straight magic."

"Aether Synthesis Module?" Cephas looked at us. "There was a huge fuss about that back at the Babbage Forum, wasn't there? The inventors didn't show for the keynote. So how did you get your hands on it?"

Chara sighed. "We invented it. That's how. And we did show for the Forum. The security wouldn't let us in because we were minors at the time."

I leaned around my brother to look at our interviewees. "Don't mention it around Papyrus. He's still very angry about it."

Chara led the way to the Shipworks hangar and opened the door. The little bell dinged and everyone looked up.

"*hey, kids." Sans, suit coat off, and in his leather apron and gloves, looked over the Stephen and Cephas. "*your dad still tryin' ta saddle you with some seconds?"

Cephas blinked rapidly at the talking skeleton.

Stephen wasn't impressed. "That's no way to refer to His Imperial Majesty."

I laughed. "Don't go there. Sans and dad are tight, though not as tight as Sans and mom. Stephen, Cephas, this is Sans. Sans the skeleton. He's the Shipworks chief engineer."

Sans took off his glove, holding out his hand to shake and Stephen took it. Only to jump a good two feet in the air at the wheeze of the whoopie cushion. Cephas doubled over, laughing.

"*the old whoopie cushion in the hand joke. it's ALWAYS funny!"

"That's not funny!" Stephen frowned.

"That was great!" Cephas managed through his chuckles.

Stephen sighed in annoyance and looked at Chara. "Oh please tell me he did that to you."

Chara smiled. "Me? No. I was several degrees of injured when I met Sans. He did get Frisk though."

I nodded.

"SANS! STOP LOLLYGAGGING AND HELP ME WITH THIS PANEL!"

Sans winked at us with his left eye. "*welp. that's my cue." He wandered around the other side of the ship taking up the bay.

Dr. Gaster came out of his office, in a long tailed suit, staring at a paper. His wife must have dressed him this morning because nothing he wore clashed with anything else. He stopped when he saw us. "Ah! Boys! Frisk, I want you to work on the engine of the _Summer Song_ today. Chara, on the flight navigation panel." He stopped and looked us over for a moment. "Ah. Your imperial father is still at it, is he?"

Chara and I nodded.

"Well, they at least look a little more interested than the last two."

"Exactly how many of 'us' have you gone through?" Stephen asked.

"So many that we'd hoped dad would have given up by now," Chara grumbled.

"That doesn't inspire me with confidence," Stephen huffed.

Chara's lips curved into a wicked little smile. "It's not supposed too."

The door slammed open and a messenger rushed in. "Dr. Gaster! Dr. Gaster!" He stopped in front of the good doctor, doubled over to catch his breath. When he had his breath, he stood and held out a letter. "Mr. Crawford sent me. There's something going on at the mine. He needs help."

Dr. Gaster took the letter and read it over. "Oh dear."

Chara pulled the letter out of his hand and read it aloud. "Dear Wings, The new mining operation has undergone considerable set back. After setting up the new series of shafts, miners have gone missing. Shift managers have reported seeing strange things in the new shafts. Please send help. Sincerely, John."

Chara handed the letter to me. "And again, Emma has us covered."

I looked it over with a frown and then looked at Stephen and Cephas. "Well, it looks like you two get off easy."

Stephen's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't. I actually want to be here and I'm not going to be left behind."

Chara glared at him. "Oh please. You're aristocracy. I highly doubt you have any experience that's of any use in adventuring." Chara turned his nose up. "Besides, being in such a situation just makes it easier for you to off one of us since we'll be too busy looking out for your safety."

The anger drained out of his face in a flash. "Is that what this is about?" He looked between the two of us. "That's why there isn't a member of the imperial guard here, isn't it? Why everyone here calls you by name and not title? Because it makes you a target." He frowned. "I'm not here because my father wants to increase family status or put me in a position to harm you. I'm here because I want to be as far from under my older brother's thumb as I can manage. And if that means I follow you into hell, it's preferable." He snorted. "And I'm not useless. I come from the middle of no where, a place were you have to make your own fun and that means I'm an excellent marksman."

I looked to Cephas. "Why are you here?"

He stared at his feet. "My father doesn't like me very much. He'd rather that his sons by his mistress were his heirs. He wants to divorce my mother and marry his mistress. My mother hopes that, if you choose me, he won't divorce her so he won't lose the prestige."

"What about you? Your father can't just disown his legitimate heir."

Cephas sighed. "My half brothers look like my father. I look like my mother, so it'd be easy for him to say I wasn't really his son."

I looked at Sans, who was suddenly standing next to me, apron and gloves gone, suit coat in place. "*bring them along." He winked at them with his left eye. "i'll keep an eye socket on them."

Chara and I looked at each other. Sans had closed his powerful eye to them, giving them his approval. Okay then. Let's see if they can keep up with us.

I nodded to the gilded elevator. "Come on. I need to show you how to pack." I found them both attentive to the concept of rolling their clothing to make more space in their packs, making it so they only needed one.

"So why are we going to investigate disappearances in a random mine?" Stephen asked.

"Dr. Gaster heavily invests in every step of the process that makes the Shipworks possible. It keeps an open and always ready supply chain. Crawford and Sons Mining is one of several mining operations the doctor invests in. So when they have a problem, they look to us for help first." I tossed him a crystal torch. "Take that. It works way better than a lantern."

Cephas finished his pack and pulled the drawstring shut. "How long of a journey will we be on?"

Sans suddenly appeared in the room. "*not long. we'll be taking a short cut. are you kids ready?"

Chara and I nodded as Cephas and Stephen shouldered their bags. He held out his hands to them. They each took a hand, looking at each other a little nervously. Chara and I put our hands on his shoulders. Papyrus' large hand landed on the top of his brother's skull. For a moment, the world swirled black, before color returned in a flash. I caught Stephen as his legs gave out.

He rubbed his face. "I was not prepared for that."

"The first time is always disorienting."

Cephas gazed out at the massive buildings that made up the mining facility. Each one was painted a bright color and I knew from experience that the inside was just as brightly painted, and very comfortable. Something Mr. Crawford had done to keep the miners, who lived on premises for two week to two month stints, from being overwhelmed by the dreariness of the work. Bobo, a large wolfhound and the company mascot, ran up to us, barking and licking our faces.

"Oh if you aren't a sight for sore eyes!" John Crawford ran up to us, shaking Sans and Papyrus' boney hands. John was a short man, but built like a steam engine with dark hair and eyes. While his shirt and coat were clean, the hems of his pants were muddy from roaming outside the buildings. It was his nervous habit to walk about. He led us inside the bright, sky blue building that housed the offices.

Jolene Crawford, a lovely older woman with long blonde hair in a braid down her back and pale blue eyes, looked up from the paperwork in front of her and smiled. "Boys!"

"Hello, Mrs. Crawford!" we intoned together.

She looked over Stephen and Cephas. "Your imperial father still on about picking human seconds?"

We looked at them both before looking back at her. "Yes."

She shook her head with a sigh. "Lunch is the usual. Be sure to eat before you head down. It's beef stew tonight for dinner. Do you want a bed, Sans? Or will you be passing out in the common room as usual?"

Sans jerked a boney thumb at Papyrus, who glared at him, hands on his hips.

"Ah. Make a bed up so you can at least pretend you'll sleep in it."

Sans sighed, shoulders dropping. "*you're killing me, jo."

She frowned. "I'm not, but something in the mine is certain to make the effort." She looked at us. "Please be careful."

We nodded and followed Mr. Crawford. After lunch and a quick change for being in the mine, I opened the special cabinet in Mr. Crawford's office. Inside was a glowing, crystal star and I touched it, feeling the light touch my soul for a moment before returning to the crystal.

Cephas looked over my shoulder, trying to get a better look at the crystal as I shut the cabinet. "What is that? What did you do with it?"

Chara leaned against the wall. "It's my brother's particular ability. The simplest way to put it is that the crystals let him manipulate time."

"How did you learn to do that? Is it something anyone could learn?" Cephas stared up at me, fascinated.

I shook my head. "Only the person with the most Determination can do it."

Stephen snorted. "Like such a thing is possible."

I sighed, looking at the cabinets. "Both of you distinctly remember that our father, Asgore Dreemurr died by assassination on December 16th, 1962. And yet you both know that can't possibly be true, because you both stood in a room with him this morning. Everyone in the empire has that day and the chaos that followed it stamped in their memories. And yet everyone passes it off as a strange dream, never really talking to anyone else about it." I looked over my shoulder at Stephen. "It did happen and I changed time itself to make it not happen."

He shivered and I wondered if my eyes looked as red as my brother's then.

"That really happened?" Cephas whispered. "I always thought it was a dream."

"This is our life line. If something bad happens, we'll be able to come back to this place at this time."

"COME ALONG, BOYS! WE'VE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE!"

We followed Papyrus as he walked, half bent over so as not to bang his head off the ceiling, to the lifts.

Cephas tapped Chara on the shoulder. "Where is the mine, exactly? I didn't see an entrance outside."

"It's underneath us." Chara waved Cephas into the elevator before him. There are entrances to it from the outside, but they're for emergency egress. Everyone takes the lifts down."

The doors opened, gate sliding to the side, and the control center for the mine greeted us. It was a large circular room with control panels, screens glowing multiple pieces of information, and camera displays that tracked the miners as they worked abutting the massive windows that looked into a cavern glowing with sparkling crystals. Shift managers, miners, and technicians gathered around a large table in the middle of the room while Cephas and Stephen stepped up to the massive windows to look at the cavern floor and massive transit trams that hung from the cavern ceiling, moving people back and forth through the huge cavern system.

"Oh thank God you're here!" Lawrence Burn, day shift manager, shook hands with our skelebros before giving us the less formal head bob that served as a bow. Lawrence, dark haired and dark eyed, was very young by miner standards, being only twenty-five. But he'd already made a name for himself in updating mining techniques and displaying the wisdom of the older miners. He directed us to a table and the map laid out. "We put in three new shafts last week to the open cavern to the north east. We were getting ready to thread tracks down them when the three men working on the bottom stopped reporting in. We sent a team to check and they were gone. The only indication any of them had been there was Simon's lunch box."

"We thought that maybe they'd gone to check something out and fell or got lost. We sent down two rescue teams. One team came back saying that they found metal doors and what looked like long abandoned living areas," Mr. Crawford added.

"AND THE SECOND TEAM?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"*how many people total are missing?"

"Eight," replied a technician.

"Since they've been missing, we've seen strange shadows in the shafts. Even so, we put down two lifts and prepped the last shaft for a tram."

Sans elbowed me. "*you kids, ready?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a map of what you've found so far?" Chara asked.

Mr. Burn handed him two pieces of paper. "Here. Two copies of what the rescue team mapped."

Chara handed one copy to Papyrus. "Thank you." He stared at the map for a few moments before looking at Sans. "Ready."

I called to Cephas and Stephen. "Let's go."

They followed us down the stairs to the cavern floor and the tram that would take us to the north end of the cavern system. The walls of the cave closed around the tram, forming a tube.

Stephen watched the glowing wall go by. "Was this what it was like in the Underground?"

I shook my head. "The Underground is a massive cavern system. It's so high you can't actually see the roof from the cavern floor. It even has it's own weather patterns. Chara and I will take you down there if you'd like to see it. It's quite beautiful."

The walls around the tram opened up and the tram came to rest in cavern lighted by electricity. The back wall formed a 'frozen waterfall' of white-brown calcite that dripped ground water into an aqua blue pool. Two lifts were opposite the 'waterfall' and a team of miners were working on the tram shaft. They looked up when we disembarked the tram and ran over. While one or two miners gave bows, the majority ruffled our hair. Something I'd learned a while back had become a very superstitious thing. If the grand princes came to the mine, rub their heads for good luck.

Calvin Crawford, the oldest of the Crawford sons and north end shift manager shook Sans' hand. "We saw the strange shadows in the tram shaft earlier. There's something down there, Sans."

I nodded. "Has anyone else gone missing?"

He shook his head as he loaded us into a lift and we descended into the cavern.

"Is there any lighting down there?" Chara asked.

"We haven't strung any because we don't need it. Water down here glows."

The lift stopped and opened on a large underground lake fed by a glowing blue water fall. To right were several metal doors set into the stone wall. On the left was a passage to somewhere.

Calvin looked at Chara and I. "You boys watch your backs." He handed each of us a whistle. "Blow the whistle when you want the lift sent down."

We stepped off the lift and watched it ascend. Sans held out a boney hand. Chara and I pulled a strand of hair from our heads.

He looked at Stephen and Cephas. "*you two as well. hand over a strand of hair."

"Why?" Stephen asked as he handed over a strand of red.

"*so I can locate you if you get lost or disappear."

Cephas reluctantly put a strand in Sans' hand.

I jerked on Chara's sleeve as he pulled out the map. "Look! Echo flowers!"

He followed my gaze to the crop of echo flowers around the left side of the lake and smiled. "Let's go have a listen."

"What are echo flowers?" Stephen and Cephas asked.

"They repeat anything they hear over and over," I said. I lifted my finger to my lips to indicate silence to Stephen and Cephas.

We heard a passing conversation. "Did they go into the doors?"

We crept to the next flower and heard a passing conversation. "They can't have. Those weird doors are locked."

We stayed silent as another flower repeated a conversation. "The area through that cave looks like an office."

Sans wandered into the cave in question, hands in the pockets of his suit coat. Inside was a small table and chair with rotted papers scattered everywhere.

Papyrus lifted a pile. "IT APPEARS TO BE A CALENDAR."

Cephas picked up a few papers. "A really old calendar. The dated year is 1872."

"That's almost a hundred years ago." Chara frowned. "Did anything of significance happen in 1872?"

Stephen thought about it, eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest. "In 1872, no. It was a pretty quiet year."

"LET US CHECK THE DOORS." Papyrus took the lead and we followed him to the other side of the glowing blue lake. He checked each door carefully.

"*well, Paps?"

"THE FIRST TWO ARE WELDED SHUT FROM THE INSIDE. BUT THIS ONE IS MERELY LOCKED. CHARA, START A LINE IF YOU PLEASE."

"On it." Chara pulled out a roll of twine and tied it to a part of the lift rigging. Letting the string hit the ground, he let the twine roll off naturally so that it blended with the ground.

"Why don't you pull it tight?" Cephas asked.

"If someone down here intends to harm us, an easy way to do so would be to cut the line. If it lays on the ground, it's less likely to be noticed," I answered.

Papyrus worked on the lock, his large hands expertly handling the delicate procedure. The door opened and inside was a hallway with lit oil lamps leading into the dark. Sans took the lead, making an easy, but very quiet, stroll down the hallway. The hallway opened into a long abandoned living room. Looking around we found two bedrooms, one with deteriorating toys, a small bathroom, and a kitchen. A door from the kitchen opened into a large, circular gallery of dripping stalactites and a glowing blue lake. Doors like the one we'd just come out of lined the walls around the circle.

Stephen pointed to the floor. The dirty trail of miners' boots headed off to the right. We followed it quietly, stopping at the door where the tracks ended. Papyrus listened carefully at the door for a full minute before carefully opening the lock. Inside was another home, but this one had seen recent use. Clean dishes rested in a rack by the sink and clean clothing hung from a line to dry in the corner. Of the two bedrooms, one was converted into a study filled with books older than sin.

Another long hallway led out the back and we followed it. It opened into a smaller cavern lit by oil lamps. A make shift cage sat against the far wall. Inside were the rescue team and one of the three missing miners.

Sans rested a boney finger against his mouth for silence and the men waited until Papyrus had opened the cage. They quietly exited, happy to see help.

"Where are the missing two?" Chara whispered to the team lead.

"I don't know. They were taken through that door." He pointed, indicating a door on the far side of the cavern.

"*how many people have you seen down here?"

"We've seen fifteen different people so far. They're all very pale. A few of them are blind."

Chara indicated the twine. "Follow the line. It will lead you back to the lift shaft." He handed the team lead his whistle. "Whistle for the lift to come down. We'll find the other two."

The team lead put his hand on Chara's shoulder. "There's something else down here, Chara. Something the people down here are deeply scared of."

Chara looked at me and frowned, but nodded.

The men followed the twine out while we headed to the second door. When the men were completely out of the cavern, we opened the door to find an office with several desks and record files. Chara went to the door on the other side of the room to listen while the rest of us looked through the files.

"These look like constable files," Cephas whispered. "The dates on these start in 1815."

"That was the year without a summer," Stephen whispered.

I looked at him. "Year without a summer?"

"A volcano erupted and the resulting ash blocked sunlight around the world for a year. Even though it happened over a hundred years ago, the old timers in Vanhollow talk about it like it happened yesterday. And they didn't even live through it."

Chara signaled us all to be silent and hide. He moved so when the door opened, he would be hidden behind it. The rest of us ducked under desks and behind cabinets except Papyrus, who simply faded into the darkness of a corner. Some trick he learned from Undyne years ago. The door opened and Cephas put a hand over his mouth to keep quiet, shaking. I put an arm around him, drawing him close.

Two very pale men with pale hair and pale, almost colorless, eyes, walked into the room. Both wore clothing a century out of fashion. "Do you believe them? That they're from the surface?"

"You heard what Urbain said. They're probably from another underground group looking to trick us into leaving and stealing our resources. Remember the people who left fifty years ago? They're probably descendants."

"But so many of them? And in clothing you could never manufacture down here? I don't know."

"Even if they did come from the surface, they brought a monster with them. You've seen that shadow thing! It's already killed three of us. One of them Clara! We only have a few women left. If we can't keep them safe, then humanity dies with us."

I could see Papyrus' eye glint from his hiding spot and knew he was signalling Chara. I snuck a peek around the corner to see my brother pouring a bit of chloroform into a rag. He and Papyrus stepped in time to put their arms around the men and cover their mouths and noses with rags. Both men struggled for a moment before their legs gave out and both were gently lowered to the floor. Chara very quietly closed the door before gagging and tying the unconscious men.

"Now what?" Stephen asked.

Chara pulled out a smelling salt. "Now we get some answers." He broke the ampule and waved it under the nose of one of the men.

He started and coughed into the gag before stiffening, mewling a bit.

"Quiet! We have no intention of harming you. We just want to know where you've taken our friends."

The man quieted, watching my brother carefully.

"I'm going to remove your gag. Yell for help and I won't think twice about knocking you out again."

He nodded and Chara pulled the gag.

"Where are the two men you took away from the others?"

"Jonas took them to question them about the monster."

"What monster?"

He glared at Chara. "You tell me. You brought the thing down here."

Chara snorted. "The only monsters I brought with me are those two." He jerked a thumb back at our skele-bros.

The man's jaw dropped. "Oh God... Don't let them hurt me," he whimpered.

Chara rolled his eyes. "The only person here either of them is likely to hurt is me."

"*you are a colossal wad, your imperial highness."

Stephen and Cephas both stifled laughs.

"I TAKE OFFENSE! I WOULD NEVER WILLINGLY HURT YOU, CHARA."

I decided to add fuel to that fire. "He put extra garlic in your spaghetti when you weren't looking two weeks ago."

Both of Papyrus' eyes glinted a bright green. "IS THAT SO?"

Chara sighed. "Listen, whatever strange monster is attacking your people, we didn't bring it. But that doesn't mean we won't help you deal with it. We just want to get our friends back home."

The man looked us over and his confusion cleared. "I can't promise anything. Only Jonas can make that kind of decision."

I frowned and jerked on Chara's sleeve. He looked at me, worried. We both had the same thought. This man was up to something. Chara shoved the rag with chloroform into the man's face and he went out again.

"Why did you do that?!" Cephas looked at Chara, hopping back and forth nervously.

"He became far too calm, far too quickly," I explained. "That's never a good sign."

Chara looked at Sans. "Try the second or move them both up the lifts?"

The door burst open and two men came in with clubs. Sans' eye glowed a bright green and a line of bones shot up from the floor between the men and us.

"More monsters!" The men turned tail and ran.

Sans dropped the barrier and threw a wall of bones in front of them, blocking their escape.

A man grabbed Cephas from behind, putting a knife to his neck. "That's enough from all of you. If you don't want the boy hurt, you'll surrender."

The look in my brother's eyes turned deadly and I quickly grabbed his wrist.

Cephas' eyes glowed softly, face instantly calm. "Let go of me. Now."

The man's face went blank and he dropped his arms, walking backwards. Cephas turned and pushed glowing hands into the man's chest, throwing him out the back door and slamming it shut. I quickly grabbed Cephas, pulling him close to me and he hugged himself.

"Please! Please don't tell my father!" he whispered desperately.

"It's okay! It's okay!" I pushed his hair from his face. "I won't give you away."

Three more men squeezed through the door the other two had tried to escape from only to fall all over each other trying to get to us.

"All of you stop this instant!"

The same blank expression came over the men and I looked at Cephas. The glow was gone and he gripped me tightly.

"Someone else here is fae blooded," he whispered.

Behind the men came an old man with the same white hair as Cephas. A middle aged woman who looked to be a daughter by the shape of her face and white hair, helped him along. The men scrambled out his way as he reached out, sightless eyes pointed at the ceiling. His hand touched Sans' skull, fingertips curling into the eye socket.

Sans stood there, relaxed, hands in his pockets. "*where i come from, reaching in a man's eye sockets is pretty rude."

The man drew his hand back. "I apologize. Are you one of the monsters trapped underground so long ago?"

Sans shrugged. "*that's the short of it."

The man reached out toward Cephas and I. His fingers touched Cephas' face. "Fae born." He touched my face. "The face is wrong, but you are a son of the Dreemurr family."

Stephen mouthed 'What?!' at me and I shrugged. 'No clue,' I mouthed back.

"You've come for the other two, haven't you?"

"WE WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVE IF YOU RETURNED THEM. THEIR FAMILIES ARE VERY WORRIED."

"There is the issue of the monster they brought with them."

"*they didn't bring a monster with them. when did the monster show up?"

"A day after the first three men came into my home."

"Are you Jonas?" Chara asked.

He nodded. "I am. This is my daughter Judith." He reached out, touching Chara's face. "Two Dreemurr sons? And twins by the feel."

Stephen looked at us and we both shrugged.

I looked at the woman helping Jonas. She had a very practiced expression of doting care on her face, but the pinching around her eyes gave her away. I turned to Jonas and hoped the Dreemurr name carried clout with him. "Let our friends leave and we'll help you sort out the monster that's harming your people. I give you my word as a Dreemurr."

Jonas considered that, hand still touching Chara's face and my brother looking annoyed, but resigned. "I accept. Bring the two men."

The three that'd fallen over each other now rushed to be the first to do as asked. The two miners came in a few minutes later. Both took one look at us and just about fell over with relief. Sans held out his hands to them both and they eagerly took them. The three disappeared.

The woman's pale jaw dropped. "Where did they go?!"

Chara looked at me for a moment, and I gave him a tiny nod. "To the surface."

"Impossible!" The woman frowned deeply and suddenly the age lines of her face matched her expression. "No one is alive on the surface. We are the last of humanity."

Chara folded his arms over his chest, head cocked with his most infuriating smile. "Then where did I come from?"

She grew silent, watching him carefully. Her eyes began to glow, but she was no match for my brother's Determination.

I took the conversation back to Jonas. "Why did you come down into the caverns? Why did you hide?"

Jonas frowned. "The world... the world was ending. A dry fog covered the world and light could not come through. Crops refused to grow and world reddened. We escaped into the caverns and have been here ever since."

"You talk like you saw it."

Jonas frowned. "No. I'm old, but not that old." He touched Chara again. "Are you truly from the surface?"

"My brother and I are from-"

A shadow whipped past me. On instinct I fell backwards, pulling Cephas with me, and narrowly missed the thin blade that struck at my head.

Papyrus snapped his fingers, turning the shadow creature blue and stopping it dead in it's tracks. Chara and Stephen pulled Cephas and I to our feet just in time for Papyrus' magic to be cut. The shadow creature came at us. I dropped to one knee, covering Cephas with my body. Chara pulled Stephen behind him and took a slice across the shoulder.

Chara grit his teeth through the pain and popped a monster candy as he drew his electricity sword. At the sight of the energy crackling around Chara's blade, the shadow creature dashed away, heading out the door into the cavern with the cage. Chara moved to follow, only to have Stephen grab him.

"Stop!"

Chara brushed him off.

Stephen grabbed my brother by the collar and pulled him so that they were nose to nose. "Don't you ever throw me behind you again! It's my job to take that hit for you, not the other way around," he growled.

Chara's red eyes narrowed with a black contempt. Stephen met the look with equal ferocity.

"Are they going fight?" Cephas whispered.

"Either that or kiss."

They both turned their glares on me and I gave them my brightest smile as Papyrus cackled. His large boney hand gently touched Chara's shoulder, healing the cut that the candy could only partially close.

Sans reappeared next to me and looked around. "*it seems i missed something. where's jonas?"

I looked around. The old man and his daughter were gone.

"Do we go after the shadow thing or just leave?" Cephas asked.

"I gave my word. We solve this first." I shook my head. "I don't think the shadow monster is the real threat here."

Stephen let go of Chara. "Go on."

"The woman with Jonas is hiding something. She was adamant about the surface being empty of humans. She attempted to use magic on Chara. And just as I was about to say where we come from, the shadow creature attacks."

"You think the shadow creature is something she made?" Stephen asked.

I nodded.

"So why didn't her power work on Chara?" Cephas asked.

Chara looked at him appreciatively. "Use your power on me."

"I couldn't..."

Chara huffed. "Fine. That's an order."

Cephas frowned and his eyes began to glow. "Walk forward three steps."

Chara stood his ground.

Cephas blinked, the glow from his eyes fading. "Why didn't it work?"

"Determination," I said. "My brother and I are filled with Determination."

"*it is something that makes them impervious to quite a bit. iron hearts as it were."

"Let's split up," Chara said. "Three and three. Stephen, Papyrus, and I will hunt down the shadow creature. You, Ceph, and Sans look for Jonas and his daughter."

Cephas smiled at the nickname and looked a bit more sure of himself. My brother and his team went through the door back into the room with the cage. Sans took the lead for us, opening the door to reveal a long hallway filled with doors. We stopped to listen at each one until we heard voices. It sounded like Judy yelling at several men. Sans put his arms around us and the world swirled black. When light and color came back, we stood behind a group of ten men and women all gathered around an open doorway. From here we could hear her loud and clear.

"These outsiders say they're from the surface, but we all know that's impossible! They are descendants of those who left us fifty years ago coming back to trick us and steal our resources! We must defeat them!"

"No, Judith. They are not from those who left. Those boys are Dreemurrs. Do not put yourself in opposition to the sons of the monster king. One is determined to offer us mercy, but the other is filled with a fight as red as his eyes."

"You are tired, Father. You should rest. Let me handle this."

"No. I tire of this endless darkness. Our numbers have dwindled to a very few. It is time we left this place."

Judith slammed her fist down on the table. "It is not safe! Who knows what terrors await us on the surface? Those people brought monsters with them! Monsters!"

"No. They brought friends. The only monster here is the shadow that hunts us and do not think I am so blind that I have not noticed that it kills any who speak against you!"

Cephas smiled at me, honestly proud of my earlier abductive logic. There was quite a bit of murmuring from the crowd.

"We want to leave, Judith!"

"I want to see the sun! I want my children to see it!"

"There aren't enough resources down here for us to live for much longer. We must leave!"

"NO!" Judith's eyes glowed dangerously and the expressions of the people went slack.

Ceph's hands balled into fists, eye glowing brightly. "Stop!" There was crackle in the air as the magic in his Fae blood spilled from him, cutting Judith's power.

She gaped at him. "How did you do that?"

The glow was still in his eyes when he looked at her. "You have Fae blood in you, but it is weak from being far from the source. You are long descended. I am only a step from my grandfather."

The shadow creature appeared in front of her and the humans fled passed us, desperate to get away. Sans pulled us to him, putting a wall of bones around us to keep us from being trampled. The shadow creature disappeared and Sans magic was cut.

"*guess you can only do one thing at a time, huh?" Sans lifted his left hand, sending a volley of bones at her. Judith jumped to the side, leaving Jonas to be struck. The bones turned blue and passed through him harmlessly.

The shadow creature appeared again, wispy and ephemeral, and flew at us. I pulled Ceph behind me, and heard a shot go off. The shadow creature disappeared in a puff.

Judith screamed and clutched her left shoulder, falling to her knees. She looked up and I followed her eyes. Stephen was kneeling on an out crop of rock above us, his clothing a mess of slashes, and his rifle against his shoulder. Chara and Papyrus knelt next to him, looking just as beat up.

Sans and I approached Judith while Papyrus used his magic to bring my brother and Stephen down to the cavern floor. She stared at the ground, tears in her eyes while I checked and bandaged the wound.

Sans stood over Judith. "*it's funny how humans will fight to keep a kingdom of dust. to keep control of something they fear losing." He looked to the cave dwellers. "*come on. it's time you all saw the sun." He looked at his watch. "*well, the moon."

I helped Judith up, while Ceph helped Jonas out of his chair. I looked over the people who watched us nervously. "Go and pack the things you want to bring with you."

After several hours of managing the full scale move of a displaced people, I sat down to the long promised stew. Mrs. Crawford had stayed up, waiting for us with the same worry she always had when we came by to help.

"What happened to you three?" Ceph asked between bites.

"That shadow thing kept happening to us," Stephen said. He bit into a roll. "It'd just flit in and out of existence. It really didn't like getting hit by Chara's sword. We chased it to the outcropping where you saw us when it disappeared again. When it was obvious that Judith was the one manifesting it, I shot her."

"So what happens now?" Ceph asked.

Chara stifled a yawn. "We report what's going on to St. Canard and let the minister of state handle the rest."

"I meant about Stephen and I. Who are you going to choose?"

Chara was too sleepy to properly roll his eyes. "We had to pick at least one of you. No one said we couldn't take you both."

They looked at each other and then at me. I shrugged. "Chara's the one you have to impress and he likes you both. You are our seconds."

They looked at Chara but he didn't add anything to the conversation. He'd fallen asleep in his chair, his stew untouched.

Stephen snorted. "I guess it take a lot of energy to be that much of an ass."

"Takes one to know one," Chara muttered sleepily.

xxx

We hope you enjoyed this week's adventure! We hope you will join us next week as Frisk and Chara are called on to solve a rather explosive mystery in 'The Walking Dead!'


	3. The Walking Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.
> 
> 2\. Quick note: chou - cabbage; canaille - blackguard/scoundrel

Ep. 3 - The Walking Dead

Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! A lovely day at the Blook Family Farm is interrupted by an explosion in the distance. Can Chara, our narrator, and Frisk discover the reason behind what appears to be industrial sabotage? Or will internal problems with the hereditary members of the Imperial Guard impede them? Find out in tonight's episode: 'The Walking Dead!'

xxx

Mary plopped down between Frisk and I on the blanket, still wet from swimming in the lake, the long collar of the navy blue with white trim bathing suit flopping in her face. She pushed the collar down offhandedly and sighed. We laid in the sun, enjoying the warmth of early summer.

"Out of my spot, Mary," Az called.

Mary snorted. "Oh. All right." She sat up and looked at Asriel. "Do you want me to get you something from the picnic table?"

Asriel shook her head from where she stood in the water, surrounded by children. She and Anne wore suits that matched Mary's and I wondered, briefly, if that was only style they came in or if the trio were matched because Az demanded it. She was fond of dressing her friends. She'd picked out the garish blue and white striped suits Frisk, Stephen, Cephas, and I wore.

"I'll have a scone," Stephen said as he sat up, pushing his red hair out of his face.

She glared at him. "I am Asriel's servant. Get it yourself."

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Would you get me some tea and a cookie, please?" Cephas asked nervously.

Mary gave him a smile. "Certainly. What kind of cookie?"

"Something with lemon in it?"

Stephen threw up his hands. "How does he rate?"

Mary gave him a sly look. "Ceph said please. And I like him better than you." She stood and headed over to the table.

Stephen watched her go. "Chou."

"Canaille," she answered.

Stephen's jaw dropped while I snickered. "Just so you know, her French is better than Frisk's."

"Is it better than your's?"

I snorted. "No."

He rolled his eyes, putting on a good, false sulk as he watched the children from St. Canard's orphanage play in the shallows of the lake. Mary held a plate with a scone in front of him and he took it with a soft smile. She handed Cephas a plate with lemon cookies and a cup of tea before sitting next to me, watching the children play in the water.

My father napped under a tree, a book on his chest. Mom helped Sister Agnes feed the youngest children at the picnic table. Lady Anne played with the children in the water, helping them come up as Undyne tossed them into a deeper part of the lake. It was a nice, quiet-

A loud explosion cut through the air.

You know? I could almost feel it coming.

All of us found our feet as Undyne pulled herself out of the water, looking in the direction of the smoke cloud. "RG1 and RG2, come with me. Mary, your on duty for Asriel. Michaels, head for the Shipworks and tell Sans and Papyrus that I need them. Wilson, you've got the punks. The rest of you stay here with their Imperial Majesties and our guests."

She looked pointedly at Frisk and I. "You stay put."

As soon as Undyne was gone, we gathered around the children, playing with them as if nothing was wrong. It wasn't long before their fears subsided and squeals of laughter filled the Blook family farm.

An hour went by and the smoke billowing in the sky subsided. Sans appeared with Undyne and spoke quietly with Mom and Dad. They looked at Frisk for a moment and I frowned. I knew that look. Asriel saw it as well and sighed.

I tapped my brother on the shoulder. "Come on."

Frisk and I headed over to the picnic table.

"Do you need me to-"

Dad shook his head. "No. The situation isn't that dire."

"*we want you to take a look at the wreckage from the explosion."

Okay. I wasn't expecting that. But Frisk had been making a name for himself as an investigator of skill. I pulled him toward the modesty tent pitched behind the picnic table. "Let's hurry up and get changed."

Cephas and Stephen joined us in the tent, tossing our various stages of wet suits into the open hamper. Pulling on my vest, I noticed that it was new and a bit more fashionable then usual. Asriel must have ordered it. I stuffed one of the handkerchiefs she'd embroidered for me in the pocket next to my pocket watch.

"Why do you wear a locket that's plainly for a woman?" Stephen asked.

I dropped said locket underneath my shirt before I finished buttoning it. "Asriel gave it to me." I gave him a rather challenging look. "And I'll wear it till the day I die."

He held up both hands in surrender.

My Father entered the tent, looking over Stephen and Cephas. "I've never seen anyone short of my daughter and her ladies jump so quickly into the fray."

"Lady Anna didn't strike me as the kind of person who ran into danger," Stephen remarked.

Dad chuckled. "Oh, you'd be surprised." He stepped out of the tent.

"So does that mean that your sister and her ladies in waiting are adventurers?" Cephas asked.

Frisk shrugged. "They get up to quite a bit, but it's all very close to home and usually involves homeland security."

Stephen looked at both of us. "And that doesn't bother you?"

I thought about how quickly Az could call lightening and summon fire. "Nope."

"Where are we heading?" Ceph asked.

"Don't know. We'll find out when we get there," Frisk answered. One short cut later and we stood in front of the smoldering remains of the Whitaker Rail Car Factory just outside of St. Canard.

Undyne scowled at the wreckage. "The factory is owned by James Whitaker. He's made quite a bit of money making rail cars and designed the Imperial cars Asgore commissioned himself. Thankfully, the factory was empty of people at the time of the explosion. So there aren't any casualties and a check on the insurance doesn't show any fraud."

Frisk looked over the wreckage. "No casualties?"

Undyne nodded. "The factory closes on weekends."

Frisk picked his way through the debris, careful not to touch the still hot wreckage. He knelt next to a piece of slag and lifted it with a rag to keep his hand from burning. He dropped it immediately, choking back a gag. "Someone was here. Though there isn't much left of them."

Undyne grimaced. She put a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "I'll drop off the autopsy results with you when they're in. Any idea what happened?"

Frisk looked around. "I don't know yet. I don't have enough information. I would like a schematic that shows the layout of the factory."

Undyne nodded. "Michaels! Get a team in here to retrieve the body!" She gave Frisk a smile. "You might as well head back to the palace. I'll send the floor plan along."

Mr. Whitaker, a middle aged man of average height and average build, with a very narrow face, arrived with the schematic just as Emma brought us the afternoon tea. He bowed low before handing Frisk the tube.

"Thank you," Frisk said as he rolled it out on our desk.

"Oh no, Sir. Thank you. I appreciate that you are giving this your personal attention."

Frisk placed a token where he'd found the body. "Do you have any enemies who'd be willing to go so far as to destroy your factory?"

Mr. Whitaker shook his head. "No."

"Are any of your employees missing?"

"Everyone is accounted for, including their families."

Frisk frowned. "Do you keep volatile substances on premises?"

"Yes. But the chemicals in question are flammable, not explosive. Nothing that would cause the kind of explosion that destroyed my factory. It looked like someone had set off dynamite in the building."

Frisk looked up at him. "Go on."

"When I was a lad, I worked in the gold mines near the coast. We used dynamite to blast our way to a vein. And occasionally you had accidents that sent buildings up. The wreckage of my factory looked exactly like a building blown up with dynamite."

Frisk's eyes lit up. "With that in mind, where would you say the blast originated?"

Mr. Whitaker put a finger down on the schematic. "Here."

Anne's head popped in the doorway and Frisk gave her a warm smile. She returned it, happy to have his attention. "Dr. Wakefield has asked you both to come by the hospital."

"Thank you, Lady Anna." I looked at Mr. Whitaker. "May we call on you if we have anymore questions?"

"Of course, Sir."

Cephas and Stephen followed us out of the study.

Frisk stopped at the Imperial Guard's office and looked in the door. "I need someone to look up sale records for dynamite over the past year."

Lord Owen L.L. Hunt, a corpulent man who'd inherited his job in the guard, sniffed at Frisk from his desk, not even bothering to look up. "The Imperial Guard has better things to do than run your errands, boy."

Frisk grabbed my arm to stop me from taking a swing. "Come on. Let's just get to the hospital."

I sighed and turned only to have Stephen stride passed me. He grabbed Lord Hunt by his collar and dragged him backwards out of the chair. "You fat loiter-sack!" He let Hunt fall to the floor. "Your sovereign gave you an order! Get off the floor and carry it out!"

Lord Hunt scrambled to his feet. "This is an outrage! I will not take orders from vermin!"

The office became very quiet and I looked around. The other members of the guard in the office were like Hunt, people who'd inherited their positions. And none of them friendly to us. We would have to retreat.

I gritted my teeth. "Come on, Stephen. We're leaving."

Stephen looked to me. "This is treason!"

"It is, but we don't have recourse. We have no friends here."

He followed Frisk and I out, fuming. "Why do your parents tolerate this?!"

"They don't know about it," Frisk said. "And we aren't going to tell them. The political fall out from the kind of house cleaning it would take to deal with it, would destabilize the empire enough that it could be grievously harmed."

I waved for Wilson as we stepped out of the palace. "But there are other ways to deal with it."

"Chara..."

I looked at Frisk and my heart sank at the miserable look he gave me. I put an arm around his shoulders as Wilson stepped up. He immediately frowned.

"What happened?"

"Hunt," I answered.

"Really. You'd think he'd have learned his lesson last time." Wilson raised his hand and Mr. Johnson brought the carriage around for us.

"Where to today, Your Imperial Highnesses?"

"Rosemary's, Mr. Johnson," Frisk replied.

Rosemary's was just as white and sterile as always. Even Dr. Wakefield's office was bright white and smelled heavily of disinfectant.

"Dr. Wakefield?" Frisk called as he knocked on the doorjamb. "You asked for us?"

The doctor looked up from his desk, the brass lattice that held his left eye in place particularly shiny today. I wonder if his wife shined it for him. He gestured for us to sit. Stephen and Cephas both blinked at him rapidly, unsure of what to think of the man who'd replaced a missing quarter of his head with well kept machinery.

"You wanted the autopsy for the body found in the Whitaker factory debris."

"Yes." Frisk looked between the doctor and I. "And?"

"And the deceased is LeeAnn Hayworth." He handed Frisk a file.

Frisk opened the file. "Did she die in the explosion or was she murdered and body placed in the factory?"

"Mrs. Hayworth died six months ago from complications following surgery here at Rosemary's."

Frisk and I both looked at him. "What?"

"Exactly."

Frisk closed the file and handed it back to Dr. Wakefield. "I don't even..." He sighed. "Well, we needed to go to City Hall for dynamite sale records anyway. We can look up where Mrs. Hayworth was buried at the same time."

I shook the good doctor's hand as I stood. "Thank you for your time, Dr. Wakefield."

"Anytime, boys. My wife would like you to come by for dinner next week to meet your new seconds."

Frisk stood, shaking his hand. "We will always accept an invitation to Sally Wakefield's table."

I put my arms around Cephas and Stephen, guiding them out the door and into the hall.

"His head..." Cephas trailed off.

"Yes. Yes. It's both horrifying and fascinating." I got them onto the waiting coach. "City Hall, please, Mr. Johnson."

Wilson looked at Frisk, who still looked this side of awful. "Well?"

He stared out the window at the passing buildings, pocket watch gripped in his hand. "I'm legitimately at a loss. At first I thought it was someone going out of their way to hide a murder. Now I'm wondering if it's industrial sabotage with a twist." He sighed. "Why dig up a dead body and place it in the explosion?" He fell silent and watched the city speed by.

We split up when we got to City Hall. Frisk and Cephas headed toward permits for purchase of restricted materials while Stephen and I headed for the Register of Wills.

Stephen slowed me down, by grabbing the back of my vest. "What's wrong with Frisk? I've never seen him act like that. Miserable and afraid."

I grimaced. This was not a conversation I wanted to have and not in a place so public. At least no one was paying us any mind. "He's thinking that it would be better for us to leave the palace. To disappear. And he's right. It would make things easier on our parents."

Stephen stopped dead, mouth agape. "Are you insane?!" his voice a fierce whisper. He jerked me toward him so that his mouth was at my ear. "If even half of the stories I've heard about the two of you are true, then your not being here means the empire falls!" he growled. He let go of me and stood up straight adjusting his vest. "I'm sure that dealing with the nobility would be easier, but everything else would be much, much harder. You and Frisk are the bridge between the common people and the imperial family and that's why the nobles want you gone. The imperial ear is attentive to the empire as a whole and not the specialized interests of an elite few."

He sighed, looking away for a moment. "In Vanhollow, the Plant family has always lived like everyone else. There was never the kind of money in our holdings to support a small fort, let alone a castle or even a chalet. We simply managed the taxes well so everyone was cared for during hard times. When my father knelt to the empire, his prime worry was the taxes. What would His Imperial Majesty ask?" He started walking again. "When Asgore arrived and my father saw you and Frisk, he knew everything would be fine. And the assistance Vanhollow received has made us prosperous despite our short growing season and lack luster mining."

Stephen stopped at the counter of the register. The young woman who sat at it, didn't even look up from her paperwork.

I leaned against the counter, relaxed. "I'm looking for the grave of Mrs. LeeAnn Hayworth."

Her eyes were glued to her paperwork. "How long ago did she pass?"

"Six months."

She signed the paper under her pen before looking at me. And promptly dropped her pen, scattering papers in a rush to stand and curtsy. "Oh my... I am so sorry, Your Imperial Highness!"

I held out a hand to indicate that she needn't worry. "It's all right. I'm just looking for Mrs. Hayworth's grave."

"Of course, Sir." She rushed into the shelves of hanging files behind her and came back with a record labelled 'Hayworth.' She sorted through it to find LeeAnn's death certificate. "Died the 3rd of February. She is buried in the Heather Fields Cemetery. Fifth row, fifth in on the right."

"Thank you, dear lady." I winked at her and she blushed.

Stephen rolled his eyes as we left. "Didn't take you for a flirt."

"Well, I can't be an ass all the time. That takes too much effort."

We met my brother at the entrance. Cephas held a box while Frisk dug through it. He let me guide him out the door and into the carriage.

"Heather Fields Cemetery, if you please, Mr. Johnson."

"Well. That's a new one." Mr. Johnson guided the carriage into the street.

"A new one?" Cephas asked.

Frisk smiled. "We've never asked him to take us there before."

The carriage pulled up to a lovely cemetery designed to look like a park with large walkways, beautiful gardens, and peaceful statuary. Large mausoleums popped up here and there as we headed for the rowed stones in the back. Several men stood around one grave, talking excitedly.

Frisk jerked my sleeve. "Where are we going, Chara?"

"Right in the middle of all those people."

"Ah. Well, there go all our clues." He waved. "Would this be the grave of Mrs. LeeAnn Hayworth?"

The men turned and instantly made themselves a wall to block our view of the grave. The caretaker in front smiled nervously. "I was not aware that Mrs. Hayworth was a friend of the Imperial Family!"

I smiled. "Well, we only met her very briefly this morning and she didn't have much to say."

Cephas groaned. "That was awful."

Stephen stifled a laugh. "That was great!"

The men looked at each other and Frisk came to their rescue. "We found Mrs. Hayworth's body in the wreckage of the Whitaker factory. We're here to investigate the grave."

The caretakers moved aside and Frisk frowned. The caretakers had trampled the area, obliterating any chance of figuring out what had happened.

"Have any other graves been disturbed?" Cephas asked.

"No. None."

The sound of an explosion hit us and we all ducked, despite being miles away.

"Another one?!" one of the caretakers cried. "What's going on?!"

"That's a very good question," Frisk said.

Wilson frowned. "I suppose you'll be running toward the danger now."

"Yes. Yes we will."

Following the smoke led us to the smoldering remains of the the Eve's Delight clothing factory. Undyne crouched there, sorting through the debris with several members of the St. Canard police.

"Find anything yet?" Frisk asked.

"Hey, Punks. We have some minor injuries this time. Only scrapes and bruises though. Thankfully, they got out of the building before the big bang."

"Have you interviewed them yet?" I asked.

Undyne stood, wiping her webbed hands on a rag. "I was waiting for Frisk." She noogied him before leading us over to the survivors, three young women and an older gentleman, who comforted a particularly distraught member of the three.

"Working on the weekend, huh?" Stephen commented.

The gentleman looked up. "Your Imperial Highnesses!"

The four made to stand and I motioned for them to remain sitting. "Please stay seated. We're here to find out what happened. So why were you here on the weekend?"

The gentleman patted the hand of the young lady he comforted. "Miss Phyllis is to be married next month. I've been letting the girls use the factory to work on the dresses on the weekends."

"How did you escape the blast?" Frisk asked.

"We were having tea when a strange man entered the building carrying a bundle of dynamite with an active timer," one of the women supplied. "We simply ran out as fast as we could."

"Did you see the man leave?"

"No."

Miss Phyllis spoke up. "The man did not look well. His skin was gray and a black ichor leaked from his nose and shut eyes."

Frisk patted her hand. "Thank you. I'm glad that you all escaped injury."

"Thank you, Sir."

Frisk pulled out his note book. "Your full name, Miss Phyllis."

"Phyllis Amelia Diver."

"Address?"

"342-B Apple Blossom Lane."

"Would it be all right if you were called on again about this matter?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Thank you." Frisk noted it and looked at me. "Let's go back and see if the man they saw is among the rubble."

We headed back and one of the lieutenants waved us over. "If you're looking for a body, it's in several pieces."

Undyne lifted the tarp a little and grimaced. She looked at Cephas. "I'm pretty sure you've not seen this sort of thing, so you might want to turn around."

Ceph nodded and turned his back to the tarp. Undyne lifted the tarp to reveal somewhat recognizable body parts reduced to hunks of meat.

Stephen turned his back to the tarp. "Well, I'm going to have nightmares about that for a while." He looked at Cephas. "Ignorance is bliss."

"In this case, it certainly is," I said.

Frisk crouched down. "This man was dead much longer than Mrs. Hayworth. Someone is animating the dead and using them to bomb places." He looked at me. "Any guesses as to where the next strike will be?"

I shook my head. "No idea. If we knew who bought the dynamite, we'd have an idea."

"Let's start digging through the sale files."

We headed home for a dinner of roasted pheasant over vegetables with Asriel, Lady Anna, and Mary. They were all wearing the slimmer, un-bustled dresses currently coming into fashion, all looking lighter and more ephemeral.

Frisk handed his notebook to Anne during dinner. "I'm pretty sure Miss Diver is in pretty dire straights with her wedding planning. The dresses she worked on with her friends are very likely destroyed. If you could handle getting her big day back on track, I can handle the funds."

Anne smiled. "Of course." She pocketed the notebook. "Do you know what's going on yet?" She held her hand out for a roll.

Frisk handed her the basket. "Someone is dynamiting factories. We know the how but not the who or why."

"So how are we helping you figure that out?"

He indicated the box of files. "We go through the records on dynamite sales."

Anne buttered her roll. "What if the dynamite was stolen?"

Frisk frowned, eyes squeezed shut as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He wiped his mouth and stood. "If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Undyne."

Anne smiled as she shook her head. She pointed to the box. "Tell us what to look for before you go."

He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'll be back before you've finished." He disappeared out the door.

Anne put aside a plate of dessert for him. "So what are we looking for Chara?"

I finished the bite in my mouth before answering. "Unusual purchases of dynamite. We need to weed out the legitimate purchases."

"Are you really interested in all of this?" Cephas asked. "It's not exactly the most lady-like of subjects."

Anne shrugged. "If Frisk finds it interesting, I find it interesting. I'm not as good at figuring out mysteries like he is, but I do manage to think of a few things that he forgets."

I nodded. "Anne has a genius all her own and Frisk especially appreciates her input."

"Too bad your father would never agree to the match," Mary commented.

"He doesn't get a say in that decision." Anne smiled. "My title comes from my mother's side of the family and she's quite keen on it. And considering that she married down, my father should be happy his only daughter is in such a position as to catch the Grand Prince's eye." She held out a cup for more wine and Mary poured. "Have the Dibdin's stopped harassing you yet?"

"The guard has been turning them away when they aren't on official business with the State."

Asriel nodded. "Lady Dibdin attempted to push for extended custodial privilege. She said that, despite being an adult, Mary was too naive to be without an official guardian."

Stephen looked between Mary and Az. "Why all the trouble?"

Mary sighed. "After my knighting in the House of Nuada, I was of sufficient rank to become Az's lady in waiting. So now that I'm important, the Dibdin's want their 'favorite adopted daughter' back."

"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"She doesn't need to do anything," Asriel said. "I informed the Lord of House Nuada of the situation."

Mary nodded. "Now I am legally Fae and a member of his family."

"But that hasn't stopped them from harassing you," Stephen snorted.

"They are trying to convince me to marry their youngest son." She turned up her nose. "I have repeatedly refused." Her expression softened as she looked at Stephen and Cephas. "So, how are you enjoying your new jobs?"

"I knew from the stories that I'd be all over the place, but I never thought I'd be chasing werewolves in the catacombs under Paris," Cephas said.

Stephen elbowed me. "The papers tone you down too much. You are a total ass."

Asriel chuckled softly, earning her a glare.

"Well I suppose it takes one to know one," Mary countered.

"Chou."

"Canaille."

Asriel covered her snout with one hand as she laughed.

We were almost through the box when Frisk came back with a small file. "There were four thefts of dynamite in the last year. All four thieves were apprehended." He took the dessert plate Anne handed him with a smile. "Find anything?"

Cephas handed him a paper. "Purchase of dynamite by Phineas Black."

"Phineas is a gold prospector," Anne said. "He routinely seeks patronage from various nobles to back his trips."

I handed him a paper. "Leonard Bardin Flood."

A sly, self satisfied smile curled Asriel's lips. "He's still in jail."

"Mary?" Frisk asked between bites of cake.

"My entire pile is Crawford and Sons Mining, so I've got nothing."

Anne handed him a paper. "Augustine's Coal Works."

Frisk blinked at her. "Sell me on it."

"Owned by Joseph and Christina Augustine. The company has seen significant profit loss since the advent of geo-thermal heating and electricity."

"So why blow up two unrelated factories?"

"To test out the effectiveness of the walking corpse delivery system."

Frisk frowned and looked to the darkening sky through the window. "So who is the final target?"

Anne mirrored his frown. "Dr. Gaster invented the geo-thermal technique, but..."

"Their names ring a bell?" Frisk asked.

"Yes. I can't remember why, but their names are important."

Frisk stood. "We'll contact Sans and call it a night." He shook his head at the gathering dark. "I hope we aren't running out of time."

The next morning, Mary came in the bedroom Frisk and I shared while Emma cleaned up breakfast in her navy blue, royal guard uniform.

"No explosions overnight, but three more graves were disturbed."

Emma suddenly grabbed Mary's shoulders. "You cannot be here today."

"Emma, I live here. I'm Asriel's bodyguard."

Emma shook her head. "Come home with my family and I today. Or go to the House of Nuada. Just do not stay here."

"I can't go home with you and I certainly can't go to the House of Nuada. The Lord granting a favor to Asriel for me doesn't mean I can just visit whenever I like."

Frisk opened the cabinet over his desk and touched the glowing crystal star.

Mary smiled. "It's all right, Emma. I'm here with the twins. I'll be fine."

Emma frowned. "Stay close to the boys then."

Mary nodded and watched Emma leave with the breakfast tray, worried.

"Was anyone able to figure out which way the corpse thieves went?" I asked.

Mary started and turned to me. "No. But Dr. Wakefield has a lead for you. He's waiting in your study."

Frisk and I pulled on our matching vests and followed Mary into the hall.

"Anne has already gone over to City Hall with Cephas. She still can't put a finger on why she thinks the Augustines are involved, but she's determined to find out."

"Where's Stephen?"

"Talking to Dr. Wakefield." She stepped to the side of the door as Frisk and I entered to find Dr. Wakefield, with his brass lattice head, and Stephen, seeming to have gotten used to the sight, having tea.

"Good morning, Dr. Wakefield!"

"Hello, boys!"

The good doctor indicated a small white jeweler's box on the table. "I did not find one of these on Mrs. Hayworth. But I believe it is because the blast destroyed it."

Frisk opened the box and pulled out a small device. "This is an electromagnetic movement apparatus."

"What's that?" Stephen asked.

Frisk put the device back inside the box. "It provides regular electrical shocks to stimulate muscles. The military uses them to help soldiers regain use of injured limbs in rehabilitation therapy."

"Someone demonstrated the use of these to reanimate dead animals during a fair." I sat back, eyes closed. "I can't remember who it was."

"Jeremy Maldives. His presentation was deemed tasteless, but surprisingly useful," Dr. Wakefield provided. "Miners, loggers, and other industries that rely on animal help use it as a stop gap between the death of one to the purchase and training of another." He took a sip of tea. "Gruesome, but effective."

"And someone is using the same thing on people." Stephen grimaced. "Repulsive."

"Indeed."

An explosion rocked the palace, the shock sending us all to the floor. A shriek cut through the air as a second explosion hit, scattering glass through the hallway.

"Mary!" Stephen was on his feet first and running for the door.

We ran after him. The plaza face of the palace was blown open, exposing wood and metal beams. Debris lay scattered across the hall as the floor threatened to give. Asriel sat against the far wall holding Mary against her. A large piece of glass speared my friend in the chest, blood flowing in rhythmic gushes from her pierced heart. Stephen knelt next to them, gently touching Mary's face as the light in her eyes darkened, a little smile on her face.

Frisk grabbed my hand, eyes squeezed shut. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, we were in our bedroom, Emma's hands on Mary's shoulders.

Asriel ran into the room and sighed in relief, sinking against the wall. "Oh thank God!"

Mary swallowed and nodded, trembling.

Stephen nearly slammed himself off the doorjamb running into the room. He let out a held breath and sagged against the door frame when he saw Mary whole and alive. "You're all right."

She blinked, looking at him. "You remember?"

"Why wouldn't I? I remember the day of the assassination that never happened. How is this different?"

"You only remember Frisk's changes in time when they are personally significant to you," Az answered.

Mary smiled softly, pushing her hair away from her neck, turning out her wrist with the movement. "Canaille," she whispered before turning to Frisk and I. "Let's try this again. Only this time with me not dying."

Emma shook her head. "Please. Leave with me today."

Mary huffed. "I can't, Emma. There were only two explosions, but three missing corpses."

"That's because I disabled one before it reached the palace," Wilson said as he came in, Dr. Wakefield on his heels. "I already have the proper people in place to stop the bombs, but we have another report of more disturbed graves coming in."

Emma refused to let go of Mary. "You must leave."

"I agree with Emma. You shouldn't stay," Stephen added.

"Emma..." Mary started.

"The danger is not passed."

Asriel stood, going from relieved friend to sovereign in a moment. "Mary, you and Stephen will head to City Hall and meet with Anne and Cephas. From there, I want you all to go to the Autumn Estate Hotel. I'm going to ask a favor of Sans to keep you all safe until my brothers and I get there."

Stephen held out a hand and Mary took it, letting him pull her out the door.

"Emma. Leave the dishes. You and your family are to leave now. Wilson, have the staff evacuated via the river. Dr. Wakefield, I'm sure you understand that the boys already know what you have to tell them. Do you have anything to add?"

Dr. Wakefield shook his strange head. "Nothing, Mademoiselle."

"Thank you for your assistance. For your safety, I ask you to leave."

The good doctor nodded and everyone left, following Asriel's orders.

She turned to Frisk and I. "We'll split up and facilitate the evacuation. Frisk, help people to the boats. Chara, direct people from the upper floors to the river side stairwells."

Frisk saluted and ran out the door. I stopped for a moment to hug her and she shuddered against me.

"It's all right. Mary's fine," I whispered.

"I know. I know." She gripped my clothing tightly and I rocked her gently from side to side. "The explosion came and she stepped in front of me without a second thought. I know it's her job to stand between me and death, but I... Chara, she smiled as she died. I..."

I gently petted her head. "You've seen Frisk and I both die before. Why is this different?"

"Because Frisk is always in a position to reverse the flow of time, I don't fear for either of you. But there may come a moment where I lose someone I love because turning back the clock would be a terrible idea."

I leaned back a little and brushed a tear from her eye. "Cry baby."

"Chara..." she whined.

It was only with me she'd let herself be weak, be the one to be comforted. I kissed her cheek, feeling the softness of her fur under my lips.

She stifled a laugh and it came out as a huff. "I'd thought you'd grow out of it by now."

I snorted and gave her a smile. "Out of what? Loving my best friend? Please."

She leaned into me, taking a deep breath, scenting me. "Chara."

I blushed and immediately pulled her under me as an explosion rocked the building. We both looked at the smoke and debris billowing down the hall.

"Find Mom and Dad. I'll make sure we're clear on the upper floors."

Az nodded and kissed me quick before heading out the door. As before, the plaza face was torn open, the floor unstable away from the wall. I pulled on a pair of leather gloves to protect my hands as I climbed over the debris to go room to room, checking for stragglers, and finding them empty. I found a large pile of masonry blocking the hallway and looked around to see if there was a moderately safe way over it. Finding none, I turned to head the other way.

A muffled "Help!" drew my attention. I spun on my heel and listened carefully, not wanting to pull the wrong piece of debris and send a cascade. I climbed a bit up and pushed a piece of masonry aside. I looked down at Hunt, trapped beneath the debris, his navy blue guard uniform soaked red.

His face was ashen from the complete lack of blood. "Please! Please help me!"

I crouched down. "If I were Frisk, I'd help you without hesitation, despite the insults you've heaped upon me." An awful smile curled my lips. "But I'm not Frisk and the last time we spoke, you called him vermin."

"Your Imperial Highness! Sir! Please!"

I snorted. "My title's good enough for you now, huh? Give me one good reason why I should help you."

"I have a wife and children."

I frowned. Damn it all. I pulled out the rubble, careful not to let any slide and fall on him. Once I'd managed to get Hunt loose, I pulled him out the rest of the way.

I looked at the window and saw a gray skinned corpse walking toward the building with another bomb. I dragged Hunt into the next room and all the way through to the garden balcony, ducking behind the wall. The blast came and I heard the building creak before the floor holding the pile Hunt had been trapped in completely fell in. Looking back inside the room, I saw a basket of crab apples tipped over on the floor. I snatched one and held it up for Hunt to eat.

"That is... monster... food," he managed between gasps.

"Eat it."

"No."

I stifled the urge to back hand him. "I can't drag you all the way to the other side of the palace without getting us both killed. The apple will heal you. Eat it."

He looked at me like I was mad but took a bite. And another. And another. Color returned to his face and his wounds began to close. He finished the apple, but was only half way healed at best.

I frowned. "Exactly how much blood do you have on your hands?"

He said nothing and moved to stand, leaning heavily against the wall.

I squelched a growl. "We need to head for the river side of the palace. You can go in front of me."

Hunt nodded and, using what ever object was closest for support, made his way through the debris strewn room to the hall. We hurried down the hall as best we could and took the white marble stairwell to the first floor and down to the docks. Mom and Dad breathed sighs of relief when they saw me and hugged me close.

Frisk punched me in the arm. "Took you long enough."

"Only because I stopped to save him."

Dad patted my shoulder. "Hurry along to meet your seconds. We'll send Wilson when the palace is secured and the damage assessed."

I frowned. He was being careful not to give away the location of our hide away. Did he suspect a traitor among us?

Az pulled me into a boat with Frisk and Sir Almon. We floated down the river and docked among the house boats of the river folk. From there, we made the short walk to the Autumn Estate Hotel. The staff was waiting for us and directed us to our suite. Anne, Ceph, Stephen, and Mary all sat huddled around the coffee table, going through multiple files from City Hall.

Sans sat in a chair that looked over the river. Frisk hugged him, smiling.

"*hey there, kiddo."

Frisk turned his smile to Anne. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes!" She handed him a file. "Sales of electromagnetic movement apparatuses. Ten of them were purchased by Kent Hayes for Augustine's Coal Works. The bill of sale notes that they are for beasts of burden who pass, but here's the interesting part: Augustine's Coal Works doesn't use animals. They use gasoline powered vehicles."

Frisk leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You're amazing! Have you thought of why the Augustines ring a bell?"

"Yes." She frowned. "Their only child, Kathleen, is married to Lord Owen L.L. Hunt."

I stared at her, frozen but for the trembling in my right hand. "Mom and Dad."

Asriel took my hand. "They're safe, Chara."

"We can't assume that. They were very careful not to reveal our location in front of Hunt and the crab apple I fed him was only enough heal him a little."

Mary and Anne stared at me with their mouths hanging open.

"What am I missing here?" Cephas asked.

"Monster food heals you," I answered. "And how much you need to completely heal an injury depends on how much harm you've caused others." I sighed. "Where do we go from here?"

Frisk stood. "Augustine's Coal Works. We're nipping this in the bud now." He wrote furiously on a piece of paper and turned to our Fae guard. "Sir Almon, I need you to deliver this message to Undyne."

The tall Fae took the paper and bowed before he disappeared out the door.

Stephen pointed at me. "You are not going by yourselves to a coal mine."

I snorted. "I wasn't sure we could leave you behind if we tried."

Mary stood and all of us paused.

"No."

I looked at Stephen. He'd been the one to speak, his eyes filled with a noble's authority.

"Ceph isn't a fighter and neither is Anne. That leaves Asriel and I. So which one of us will it be?"

There was a chuckle from the chair by the balcony and I sighed. "You. It'll be you." Asriel gave me a soft smile as I went over and tapped the skeleton on the skull. "Would you give us a short cut to the Coal Works?"

Sans smiled, smoothing out his suit as he stood, and held out a boney arm. "*of course."

We each laid a hand on his arm and the world swirled black, before color swirled back into my vision. Sans had put us inside the empty office of the Coal Works. And it was a good choice. The office gave us a view of a very busy coal yard. The breakers had been completely shut down, piles of coal shifted aside like so much garbage to clear the area. A battalion of five hundred or more men wearing the heraldry of the Hunt family were prepping to march.

"This is too much for us to handle," Stephen whispered.

"You should have taken Asriel," Mary whispered. "She could clear the majority of the men in one strike."

"*i guess that means i'm up." Sans patted Frisk and I on the shoulders. "*i'll drop you kids back at the palace and come back here with a few friends. i'll make sure this rabble doesn't go anywhere." He waved his hand and an ornate gold leaf and alabaster phone appeared next to him. He put the handset to his skull and dialed. "*if it's not too much trouble, i will require some assistance. at the augustine's coal works. yes. much obliged!"

He hung up, phone disappearing into thin air, and held out an arm. Before we could take it, a soft whimper caught our attention. I carefully opened the door to the closet. Inside was a very attractive, dark haired, young lady who barely looked to be eighteen, tied up and weeping against the gag in her mouth. She sobbed in relief at the sight of us.

"Shhh," I whispered. I gently pulled the gag from her mouth as Frisk cut the rope binding her.

"Thank you!" she launched herself into my arms crying on my chest.

Stifled chuckles from the three behind me earned them a glare. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head vehemently.

"Your name, dear lady?" Frisk asked.

She let go of me, shame in her face. "Kathleen Augustine-Hunt."

"What's going on?"

She sat up straight, hands in her lap, staring at the floor. "My lord husband is attempting to overthrow the Imperial Family and lock monsters in their underground prison once more."

Frisk and I looked at each other. "How was he going to lock monsters underground?"

She looked at us and held up her hands, like she was holding an invisible object. "There's an artifact of some sort in the museum attached to the palace. He said it was originally used to lock monsters away."

"Why were you bound and tossed in a closet?" Mary asked.

"When I found that my lord husband was using my family's good name and money to pay for his plan, I told him that I was not going to stand for it and would report it." She looked at her hands. "It was foolish, I should have simply snuck off without saying anything to him. But I believed that he was a good man who would listen to reason. I did not think that he would tie me up and leave me in a closet."

"Where are your children?" I asked.

She shook her head. "We don't have any children."

I felt my eye twitch and let the sudden urge to kill the man wash over me completely to let it fade away. My sigh came out as a huff and I turned to my brother. "What do we do with her? We can't leave her here and we can't take her to the palace."

Frisk shook his head. "We take her to the palace."

"What?"

Frisk took Kathleen's hands. "Do you know what the artifact looks like, dear lady?"

She nodded. "Yes. My lord husband told me before I knew what he was planning.

"*then it's time for us to leave." Sans held out a boney hand. We all took it as Frisk and I put our arms around Kathleen's waist, and the world swirled black. When everything came back together, we stood in the storage underneath the palace, next to Wilson and several monster members of the guard. We held tightly to Kathleen so she wouldn't fall.

Wilson looked at us. "I was wondering when you'd show up." He sighed. "Always running toward the danger."

"Mom and Dad?" Frisk asked.

"At the House of Nuada."

"Hunt has a battalion of men getting ready to march from Augustine's Coal Works," I said.

Wilson frowned and the other guard members looked at each other.

Sans winked with his right eye socket, leaving his powerful eye open. "*i've got that handled. you work on securing the palace." He disappeared.

Wilson put his hands on Mary and Stephen's shoulders. "I want the both of you to head to the roof on the plaza facing side. Stay clear of the sections of the palace that are falling in. You'll find a cache of rifles and ammunition in a false piece of the facade under any corner most statue. Shoot to wound Hunt. Anyone else with him aim for between the eyes. Follow Doggo up."

Both nodded and headed after Doggo into the darkness of the storage.

Wilson turned to Frisk and I. "Where is your Imperial sister?"

"At Autumn with Anne and Ceph."

Wilson nodded. "And this young lady would be?"

"Kathleen Augustine-Hunt."

Wilson blinked. "Owen Hunt married a commoner?"

She looked at the floor. "He is nearly bankrupt. He married me for my family's money."

"And their access to otherwise restricted materials," Frisk said. "Where are your parents?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "They were two of the corpses sent to bomb the palace."

I thought of how I found Hunt in the rubble and the second corpse that had gone in our direction. Had they retained some memory after death? Or had their persistent human souls attempted revenge? It would have to be a mystery for another time. "Hunt is looking for an artifact in the museum to seal monsters back in the underground."

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "And he thought monsters would just go back in without a fight?"

"His plan was to capture their Imperial Majesties and use them as hostages to get monsters to leave," Kathleen informed.

We all laughed and she looked around, confused.

"What's so funny?"

"Mom and Dad may let the guard handle everything, but they are not slouches," Frisk said.

"Dad wipes the floor with Undyne during training." I smiled at the memory. "She's only ever beaten him once. And we're pretty sure Mom is better with fire magic."

Frisk nodded. "Come on. We need to find the artifact."

"Wait." Wilson tossed Frisk and I our Shipworks packs. "I grabbed those from your rooms earlier. I figured you'd need them." He turned to the guard. "Dogamy and Dogaressa, go with the twins." He frowned. "We don't know where Hunt is right now."

Frisk pulled on his pack. "With our luck, he's in the museum, looking for the artifact." He turned to Kathleen. "Let's go. You can give us a description of the artifact on the way." He took her hand and we headed into the darkness. I pulled my flashlight and lit the way to the door that would take us to a long stone corridor under the palace. We raced along it as fast as Kathleen could run in her healed boots.

"The artifact is a sculpture shaped like a heart. The outside is a mosaic of six individuals that represent highest virtues of the human soul: Patience, Kindness, Integrity, Bravery, Perseverance, and Justice."

We ran up the stairs into the museum gallery and I pulled my sword from it's sheath on my pack.

"I know which one you mean," Frisk said. "Let's just hope we get to it before Hunt does."

We cam up into a quiet gallery and crept to the room with the artifact. It was gone, only an empty pedestal greeted us. Kathleen screamed as she was grabbed by one of Hunt's men.

"Drop your weapons!" Hunt yelled. I turned to see him holding the artifact. Ignoring his order, I flipped the switch on my sword, sending an electrical current through it and hurled it like a javelin at him.

In a moment of panic, he held up the heart to block the sword. My sword struck sculpture and it exploded in a blast of color and tile, raining down around us like glitter. Released from their prison in the sculpture, six human souls in a rainbow of colors floated free and disappeared.

"No! No!" Hunt picked up my sword and rushed me. I stepped to the side, dodging his swing, and punched him in the face hard enough to send him to the floor. He grabbed at his broken nose, squealing as he rolled back and forth. Several of his men rushed me only to have Dogamy and Dogaressa step in front. Members of the guard rushed in around the group and the man holding Kathleen let go of her quickly. Frisk pulled her to safety.

Undyne and Wilson came in and looked down at Hunt, still rolling on the floor.

"Did you do that?" Undyne asked.

I nodded.

"Nice!"

She dragged Hunt to his feet. "Owen L.L. Hunt, you are under arrest for using a cover to purchase restricted materials, the bombing of two industrial factories, attempted kidnapping of their Imperial Majesties, assaulting the Grand Princes, theft of an important, and priceless, historical artifact, causing the artifact's destruction, and treason."

The guard marched Hunt and his men away as Mary and Stephen ran into the gallery. Mary sighed in relief when she saw us, hugging us both tightly. And that was the moment that the events of the last two days caught up with Kathleen. She put her head in her hands and wept.

I looked at Mary. "You're up."

She nodded. "I'll take care of this. Go check on Sans." She put an arm around Kathleen and led her away.

Frisk, Stephen, and I headed out of the museum and into the plaza. I stopped dead in my tracks, finally having a look at my home. A large portion of the front left was blown open. The beautiful blue green sooted and scored. Several of the statues had fallen to the plaza, smashed to pieces. As I watched, another piece of masonry fell and smashed several windows in.

There was a loud cheering behind us and I turned to see a mass of people, monsters, commoners, and fae pushed up against the palace gates, all jumping and shouting. A chant went up and carried over them like a wave.

"DREEMURR! DREEMURR! DREEMURR!"

I blinked at the crowd. "They're cheering us."

Stephen put his arm around me. "Remember what I said earlier?" He patted my shoulder. "Come on. We aren't done yet."

"Hold up!" Wilson called. He jogged over to us. "How many times do I have to tell you two not to go anywhere without a member of the guard?"

"A lot, apparently. Especially this one." Stephen knocked his fist gently against my head.

I rolled my eyes and we made for gate. "How are we going to get to the Coal Works?"

The crowd, still cheering, parted away from the gate and there sat Mr. Johnson, waiting at the wheel of an imperial carriage. Several people made a barrier of themselves so we could get through. People reached between shoulders and arms to touch Frisk and I as we headed for the carriage.

"Where are you going?!"

"Let us come with you!"

Frisk, ever the 'face' of the family, turned to the crowd. "We're going to finish taking care of the rest of the conspirators. Please do not follow us. It is not safe and will make it hard for the guard to do their jobs."

Mr. Johnson beeped the horn once and the crowd parted for him like water. He maneuvered the carriage down the packed street, taking it slowly to avoid harming members of the crowd who reached out for us. Once out of the crowd, he put on the speed and we were at the Coal Works quickly. Mr. Johnson stopped down the road and we snuck up the road to find a perimeter already held by the imperial army. The sentries bowed to us and one escorted us up the hill.

The remains of the battalion were disarmed and sitting in a ring of glowing bones. A bone canopy gave them shade while reminding them that they would be easily bested should they attempt anything. The dead from the battalion were laid out in rows and the imperial army secured the area.

Stephen's jaw dropped. "Sans did this?" He looked around, and spotted several Sans-es, one of them an entirely too pale human, all napping against the outer wall of the Coal Works office. "Exactly how many Sans-es are there?!"

Wilson patted him on the shoulder. "From what I understand and the few that I've had the pleasure of meeting, there are quiet a few Sans-es and they all enjoy their naps."

"Okay, then. Why does that man over there look like an older version of you?" Stephen pointed.

An older version of Frisk and I in a long coat, a red and gold Delta Rune emblazoned on the back, walked over to the Sans-es kicking the one in a red sweater in the leg. That Sans growled at him in mock anger before standing and brushing off his shorts. Chara noticed us watching and gave us a wave before he and his Sans disappeared.

Frisk nodded. "Woah. We are going to be really attractive when we're older."

I burst out laughing.

"So there are other versions of you?"

Still laughing I patted Stephen on the shoulder. "I'll explain it later, but the short answer is yes."

Our Sans opened an eye socket and groaned a little as he stood. "*didn't i tell you i had this? i hardly broke a sweat."

"*that's because you left all the work to the rest of us."

I wasn't sure which one spoke, but Sans waved his double off. "*the army has things in order and my friends here will shove off when we aren't needed for containment. why don't you head back to the hotel and call it a day?"

My stomach chose that moment to growl and I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Wilson herded us back to the carriage and Mr. Johnson dropped us off at the Autumn Estate. Mary sat on the couch drinking tea with Lady Anne, Cephas, and Asriel.

"Where's Lady Kathleen?"

"Sleeping in our side of the suite," Asriel answered. She motioned us toward the table. "Dinner is waiting for you."

"Thank you," we breathed.

Stephen pointed at both of us. "Do they always do the 'say the same thing at the same time' thing?"

Mary laughed. "Oh, you think that's bad? Just wait until you hear them talk in gibberish to each other. They did that all the time when we were little."

We sat down to eat.

Cephas sat with us. "Is everything settled?

"For now."

He frowned. "I'm sorry I wasn't of much use to you today."

"We didn't take you and Stephen as seconds to have you walk into danger with us. With the now constant contact with the House of Nuada, you provide us with answers to questions we don't even know to ask. Being a Gentleman of the Bedchamber isn't about your usefulness in times of crisis." Frisk put a hand on his shoulder. "It's about having a friend you can trust."

"So what happens now?" Stephen asked.

I shrugged. "Undyne takes care of anyone else who was part of the conspiracy and the palace undergoes construction to repair the damage. We'll likely sleep here until the the structural stability of the palace is assessed." I sighed. "I just want to crawl into bed."

Frisk patted my shoulder.

There was a knock on the door and before any of us could say anything, Papyrus let himself in. "CHARA! I HAVE THE BEST OF NEWS!"

I was at my end for surprises, but if Papyrus had something for me, I would muster up the energy to be excited about it. "Hit me with it, Paps."

He handed me a paper with his biggest, brightest smile. It was a court order. I read it over. "In the case of the Imperial State vs. Leonard Bardin Flood, the submersible airship _Curio_ will be confiscated from the defendant and given as restitution to W.D. Gaster's Shipworks!" I knocked over my chair as I jumped up, hugging Papyrus around the rib cage. "Yes! Yes!"

"Big deal, huh?" Anne asked.

Asriel smiled, incredibly pleased. "Very big deal."

xxx

We hope you enjoyed this week's adventure! We hope you will join us next week as Frisk is called on to look into a mysterious case of madness in "The Full Health Machine, Part One!"


	4. The Full Health Machine, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. This episode is filled to the brim with references to other sci fi and steampunk. 
> 
> 2\. Rated T for violence and some language.
> 
> 3\. The adventure in which Chara tangled with Leonard Bardin Flood and the subsequent procurement of the Curio is online. Go to Core Issues: Season Three, Episode Six to read 'Chara Dreemurr and the Jungles of Trul.' It does not require you to read anything else from Core Issues and is a stand alone. It is also the first appearance of Wilson.

Ep. 4: The Full Health Machine, Part 1

In tonight's episode, Frisk, our narrator, and Cephas are woken in the middle of the night to help Undyne investigate an awful crime involving the death of a Fae from House Ogma. They meet Mary at the precinct, acting in her official capacity as a Knight of the Oak. On their return to the Shipworks, they find that someone wearing an imperial guard uniform is spying on them...

xxx

Chara's excitement was plain on his face, eyes just a bit wide, smile so satisfied. He'd been waiting for this day since the judge ruled that the submersible airship _Curio_ would be given to the Shipworks as part of the compensation owed for the damage it's captain, Leonard Bardin Flood, and his partner had caused the _Jubilation_ in their attempt to steal it. My brother ran his fingers over the thick glass of the forward hull, breath hitched. He'd wanted to see the inner workings of the ship for so long that he'd been talking about it in his sleep.

"Finally. The self maintaining ship. Who made you? How do you work?"

I watched him with a happy smile. He rarely left his worries behind and just immersed himself in a project. He and Papyrus would be all over the ship for months. And it would serve as a great distraction from the politics of being a grand prince. Cephas and Stephen watched Chara fawn over the ship with amused smiles. Honestly, I wanted to do the same, but this was his victory, and I had an appointment to keep.

Yesterday, I visited Anne's mother, Duchess Ariella Emerilia Wharton Koll, to discuss a matter dear to my heart: Anne's hand in marriage. Her father had tried to arrange a marriage between his only daughter and one of the sons of King Alfred of Germany. Duchess Koll put the kibosh on it immediately, but I wasn't going to wait around for a new suitor to take the field. The Duchess was thrilled beyond my expectations when I sought her blessing. And was happy to keep my plan a secret, so that Anne would be surprised.

So today, I was meeting with her to shop for an engagement ring, and spend time with the woman I hope will be my future mother in law. My future father in law is not so thrilled with this, but chose silence in the face of his wife's rather terrifying wrath. I smiled to myself. I very much liked Duchess Koll. I found her standing at the wrought iron gates of the shipyard, gazing up at the majestic airships floating overhead. Anne inherited her strawberry blonde hair and sparkling, green eyes from her mother, who could easily be described as statuesque.

I smiled as I came to stand next to her, gazing up at the airships filling the yard.

"Which ones did you work on, Your Imperial Highness?"

"Did you see the one with the glass bow as it lowered into the main hangar?"

"Yes."

"Everyone but that one."

She looked at me with a new found appreciation. "I knew you and your imperial brother were apprenticed here, but all Anne talks about is your skill in investigation."

"To be fair, I don't bring Anne to work with me."

The Duchess smiled. "I suppose not."

I offered my arm and she took as I lead her down the path to the carriage. Mr. Johnson looked over his shoulder. "Where to today, Sir?"

"Rainier's Jewelers, please."

He tipped his navy blue cap to me with a smile and guided the carriage back into St. Canard's bustling downtown.

Duchess Koll settled back in her seat. "Rainier's was an interesting choice for the imperial family's preferred jeweler. The shop is without pedigree and the owners are young. Are you going to let me in on the secret as to why?"

I gave her my brightest smile. "You'll see."

When the carriage stopped, I held the door for Her Grace while offering a steadying hand as she stepped out. Before I could even get to the shop door, it burst open and Darla Rainier slammed into me with a hug.

"Frisk! Oh My God! Mimi and I were so worried! Simon said that he saw you coming out of the palace after the explosions and that you were fine but there was so much confusion and the rumors being spread everywhere were just awful. And someone said Chara was caught in a blast and then in a fight the the conspirators and-"

I patted her back. "I'm fine, Darla. And Chara is back at the Shipworks drooling over his new toy. We're all right."

She breathed a deep sigh of relief and quickly straightened her curly brown hair before holding the shop door open. "Mimi has prepared tea and her famous petite cakes."

"Thank you."

Darla waved me in and curtsied to the Duchess, who stopped dead in her tracks when she stepped inside. The shop was set up like any other jewelers in St. Canard. Waist high cases lined the right hand wall all the way to the back where the cases made an "L" shape. Glass cases were set into the walls on the left around a very comfortable couch and coffee table. But it wasn't the standard set up that had her jaw drop, but the exquisite artistry in the cases. Fantastic pieces of gold, platinum, and glittering gems shined under the glass. The walls behind the cases on the left were lined with the many awards Simon Rainier and his sister in law, Mimi Owens, have won in international contests.

I gently pulled Duchess Koll to the couch, her eyes still glued in wonder at the pieces in the cases.

Simon, Darla's beloved husband, looked over from his jeweler's bench and bowed his head to Duchess Koll. "Your Grace." He wiped his hands as he stood. "Hey, Frisk. What are you looking for today? Something for your Imperial Mother or Sister?"

"Not today. I'm looking for a very special sort of ring for Anne."

Darla gasped.

Mimi dropped her pliers and covered her open mouth with her hand. "Oh my God. Really?!"

I nodded and both sisters squealed happily.

"Keep it under your hat pins! I want Anne to be surprised."

The sisters made as if they were locking their lips shut and throwing away the keys. Simon unlocked a cabinet over his bench with a key kept hidden under his shirt. From it, he withdrew the only contents from inside, a cherry wood box I knew to be lined with a lush purple velvet and the Delta Rune inlaid in gold on the lid. He sat in the chair opposite us as Darla poured the tea.

"Welcome to my family's humble establishment, Your Grace. I hope my wife and her sister's excitement is not overwhelming."

She smiled. "Not at all."

Simon opened the box revealing a pendant I knew to be Dad's birthday gift to Mom, a golden, heart shaped locket my brother had ordered for Az's birthday, and a row of glittering rings. "The row of rings are pieces that Lady Anna has asked repeatedly to see or designs that she has been particularly drawn too." He looked over his shoulder at Mimi. "Would you bring the ruby case, please?" He looked tot he Duchess. "Your daughter is rather enamored with them."

Duchess Koll looked at me and I wondered if my eyes looked particularly red at that moment. It was one of the ways you could tell the difference between my brother and I. Well, that and the hair... And the attitude. I love my brother, but he is a total wad sometimes.

"I can see why the imperial family has chosen Rainier's. Your work and your attention to your customers is beyond all expectation." She elbowed me with a smile. "Though they don't seem very formal with you."

"It's hard to be formal with someone who is still only this big in your head, Your Grace," Darla said, holding her arms as if holding a baby.

Her face lit up with surprise. "You're all from the orphanage."

Simon smiled.

I picked up one of the rings from the case and turned it carefully, looking at the graceful curves and tiny flowers of rose gold. I'd watched Anne ask to look at this ring so often I was afraid it'd break her heart to see it gone from the case. "This one." I indicated the top stone. "A ruby here. Diamonds in the accent stones. Emeralds on the sides here."

The Duchess' smile grew wide. She chuckled, "You really didn't need me along today."

I faked being taken aback. "Yes, I did! What if I had made a terrible choice? Besides, I'm taking you to lunch."

She took the ring from my hand, looking over the delicate piece. "You will make a fine husband for my little love."

Mimi and Darla gave me big, excited smiles, and poured more tea. After an hour of the Duchess looking over the many things in the shop and being regaled with stories of my brother and I as children, Mr. Johnson brought the carriage around to take us to our next destination.

Darla held the door for us and I hung back momentarily to speak with Simon. "Was that enough for you to get an idea for a necklace for Her Grace?"

Simon snorted. "More than enough. I'll have several things for you to choose from for the mother of the bride for her birthday, Christmas, and the wedding."

I hugged him. "Thanks, Simon."

He patted my back. "Anytime, Frisk. Tell your brother and Mary we said hello."

"Will do."

He shook my hand. "Good Luck."

Mimi winked at me. "I doubt he needs it."

I stifled my laugh and hurried out the door to help Duchess Koll into the carriage. Mr. Johnson dropped us off at Cafe Veridian were Asriel waited for us at a table on the back terrace over looking the royal gardens.

She hugged Duchess Koll as we approached. "It's good to see you again."

"And you Asriel. I'm very glad that you and your family are safe."

Az smiled at me. "How is Chara enjoying his new toy?"

I rolled my eyes. "You may have a new rival for your favorite brother's affection."

Az feigned shock as we sat. "Frisk! I would never play favorites!" She jerked on my sleeve and I gave her my slyest smile. Mostly because I knew better. Chara was her best friend and only true confidant.

"Has my daughter served you well, Asriel?"

Az put her napkin in her lap. "I'm honestly not sure how I managed before I met her."

I put a napkin in my lap as the soup course was set in front of me. "It was Anne who found the important information we needed to figure out who was behind the attacks. Her working memory of the political and social movement among the nobles is a God send."

The Duchess' inclined her head appreciatively. "I never thought her fascination with high court gossip would ever have a use."

Asriel and I simply nodded.

"How is Lady Kathleen doing?" I asked.

"Chara called the Crawfords and they've agreed to help her get the Coal Works back in order. Anne and the solicitor are helping her put her parents' estate to rights. "

"And her," the Duchess cringed a little, "husband?"

I took a sip of tea. "Our Imperial Father stripped Owen Hunt of his title and estate, and left the rest of his punishment to the courts. He was convicted on all counts of treason and sentenced to death by firing squad. His estate and title were transferred to his mother, Lady Eleanor. Who, to add insult to injury, disowned her only child and named Kathleen the heir to the Hunt estate. In a week, she'll be the most eligible widow in the empire."

Asriel nodded. "The Hunt estate was near bankruptcy from his personal inability to manage his wealth. His mother cut him off from the family accounts after several large purchases that he wouldn't elaborate on. There's almost no paper trail which leads me to believe that they were the first mercenary purchases for his march on the palace." Asriel shrugged. "All that aside, Lady Hunt adores Kathleen and sold several pieces of art at auction to make the estate solvent again."

The Duchess smiled into her tea. "Will either of you attend the execution?"

Asriel shook her head.

"I'm not inclined too," I answered sheepishly. "Our Father and Chara are the ones who go if a member of the Imperial Family should be in attendance for an execution." I spied a familiar head of gray hair wearing a hat with a stuffed, little, yellow canary sitting in flowers at a table to the right. I quickly dabbed my mouth with the napkin. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I see a friend I would be remiss not to greet."

They both nodded as I stood and headed over to the next table on the terrace. I waited politely for a break in the conversation before leaning in. "Hello, Mrs. Wakefield!"

"Frisk, my boy!" Sally Wakefield took my face in her hands and planted a kiss I was sure to leave dark red lip rouge on my cheek. The woman wore too much in the way of make up, but she was retired, and had long given up caring about what other people thought of her besides her husband. "I still cannot believe that you are all grown up!"

"Thank you again for having us over for dinner last week. As always, your stuffed tomatoes were to die for."

She blushed brightly. "Oh, you little charmer!" She pinched my cheek before gesturing to her lunch companion. "This is my good friend, Her Honor, Mrs. Myrtle Hannon. Myrtle, this is His Imperial Highness, the Grand Prince, Frisk Dreemurr."

Mrs. Hannon's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness!"

She looked at a complete loss as to what to say or do. I offered her my hand to shake in order to help her save face. When she took my hand, I turned her knuckles up and kissed her fingers briefly.

"It is very nice to meet you, Your Honor."

Mrs. Hannon flushed a bright red and, for a moment, looked like a charmed school girl instead of a graying matron. "And you, Sir!" She fanned herself a little. "I'm so sorry! I've not met a member of the imperial family before!"

Mrs. Wakefield blinked at her friend. "Really? But I know you've been to the palace for formal functions."

Mrs. Hannon sighed. "Yes, but those are large gatherings and not everyone gets a chance to even see the Imperial family let alone speak with them." Her smile became conspiratorial. "I did not know that you were so close to the Imperial family!"

I smiled, hands held behind my back. "Dr. Wakefield has long been my and my brother's physician. We know Mrs. Wakefield very well. Is today a simple day out or an occasion?"

Mrs. Wakefield leaned in with a happy smile. "Myrtle is going to be a grandmother soon."

I feigned disbelief. "Impossible! You look far too young to have children who are of age."

Mrs. Hannon positively glowed. "Oh, you are a charmer! Well, if I do look so young it's because of Dr. Cyril Woodward's new electrical-magnetic treatment. I feel as young and energized as I did when I was a wee girl."

Mrs. Wakefield sighed and rolled her eyes. "I've told you to stop going to those treatments. Cyril Woodward is not a medical doctor and his device has not been submitted for testing by the medical community. It is not safe."

"Oh poppycock!" Mrs. Hannon gave her an unconcerned wave. "You think you know so much because your husband is a doctor."

"I was a nurse before I retired, and a nurse's medical training is rigorous." She patted her friend's hand. "Please avoid the treatments until after the next fair. Woodward's device will appear publicly tomorrow and be available to real scrutiny. I just don't want you to be hurt by someone who is quite possibly a quack."

"It is very sound advice, Your Honor."

Myrtle Hannon sighed before looking aghast. "Oh dear! I'm sure we've kept you too long from your lunch!"

"It's fine. I'm sure my companions are trading embarrassing stories about me in my absence." I leaned down to kiss Mrs. Wakefield on the cheek. "Thank you again for a lovely dinner."

She patted my hand. "You and your brother are always welcome at my table."

I gave Mrs. Hannon a short bow. "It was very nice to meet you, Your Honor."

"And you!"

I returned to the table and Az immediately leaned over to wipe the rouge from my cheek. "Always with the lip rouge," she muttered.

I chuckled. "She is of an age were she is perfectly within her rights to glob it on, Az."

A young woman, primly dressed with dark brown curls pinned so they fell in ringlets behind her head, stepped up to the table, hands clasped to her chest nervously. "Ah! It is you!"

The Duchess snorted over her tea. "I dare say, it'd be hard to mistake him with the bright pink in his hair. How do you do that, by the way?"

"It's something Mettaton does to me, so you'll have to ask him." I turned to get a good look at young lady. "Oh! Miss Phyllis!"

She positively beamed. "You remember me?!"

"Of course! Az. Your Grace. This is Phyllis Amelia Diver. Miss Diver, this is my Imperial Sister Asriel and Her Grace, Duchess Koll." I blinked. "Oh wait. It's not Miss Diver anymore is it?"

Phyllis giggled. "Mrs. Greenfriar." She took my hands in hers as she knelt. "Thank you so much for your help with my wedding. I was at wits end and you came through with a true rescue."

"You should be thanking Lady Anna. She did all the hard work. I just supplied the funds."

She shook her head. "You remembered me in the midst of everything else that happened during those days. There are no words to say how grateful I am." She kissed my hands. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome. May many years of happiness follow you and your husband."

She smiled, and curtsied deeply before heading away.

"Look at you, being all popular with the common folk," Asriel teased.

I stuck my tongue out at her. The rest of lunch passed pleasantly and, over all, successfully. After seeing Az and Duchess Kol back to the Summer Palace, I stopped just long enough to pick up the pie Mom had baked for Sans. Scaffolding still covered the plaza side of the palace, despite the gaping hole that had once been in the wall now being closed. The construction on the interior was well underway and by fall, it would be as if nothing had happened. Which is good, because I miss my bed.

Mom and Dad had moved back into the palace as soon as it was declared structurally sound in their quarters. We imperial children were still staying at the Autumn Estate when we weren't lodging in the Shipworks, the most damage having occurred on our side. Not to say that the Autumn Estate was less then well appointed with it's big suites, warm rooms, delicious food, and wonderful staff. It just wasn't home. On the other hand, I did get a chance to see just how often Sans had friends over from other universes, since they all stayed at the Autumn. And he had them over a lot. I supposed our little corner of the multi-verse was quite a prized vacation spot.

Mr. Johnson gave me a ride back to the Shipworks, taking the scenic route by the river. Now that we were long past mid summer, the days were shortening and the river was covered in a golden glow as the sun began to dip into the horizon. I knew that Mr. Johnson should have been home an hour ago, so when he let me off at the Shipworks, I gave him my certificate for dinner at 'The Olive Table,' a lovely restaurant with seating right next to the river. Very popular with noble and commoner alike, it was hard to get a table and Mrs. Johnson loved the place. Chara and I kept two tables reserved for the imperial family and gave the daily reservation certificates to anyone we knew we'd inconvenienced that day. And, well, no one ever turns down going out on the imperial family's purse. He took the certificate with a smile and bowed his head to me before driving the carriage away.

The bell rang as I came in the door of the Shipworks, and Dr. Gaster gave me a smile and a wave from his office.

"Idiot! Didn't you ever clean your ship?" Chara yelled. His head popped out of the topside hatch, red eyes glowing brightly behind his goggles. "How'd it go?"

"Great."

"Good. Get changed and get in here. You have to see this thing!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Coming!"

I put the pie box on Sans' desk before heading into the room Chara and I shared to change. Though now, Stephen and Cephas shared the room with us as well. Since we only slept in here, it didn't seem all that crowded. I changed out of my nice clothing and into Mr. Larkin's specially made work attire. I grabbed my goggles and leather apron from the hook on the way down back down the stairs to the hangar floor.

Once inside the _Curio_ , I found Cephas reading over stacks of papers he found in Flood's desk. Stephen was searching every available cabinet, closet, and drawer, and cataloging the contents. Chara and Papyrus were under the main control panel.

"*hey, kid. come give me a hand with this."

I looked over my shoulder and found Sans at the door to the engine room. "Mom baked you a spiced, apple pie."

"*ah tori! tell her i said thanks."

"Will do."

Stephen looked over. "The Empress bakes?"

Chara sat up and put up his goggles, the dirt making perfect rings on his face. "Remember the fruit tarts you ate last night?"

"Those were so good," Cephas breathed, eyes squeezed shut with the warmth of the memory. "Any chance we can get her to make more?"

Chara raised an eye brow at him. "Yeah. Ask." He stood and followed me into the engine room, wiping his hands on a rag.

"*check this out, kiddo."

Sans opened the engine's containment and I stared up at a massive, clear crystal chamber filled with gray clouds and lightning, a veritable storm brewing inside.

"A cyclone chamber?! This thing runs on a cyclone chamber?! They explode at the slightest sign of trouble! We can't keep anything that dangerously unstable at the Shipworks!"

Chara put an arm around my shoulders. "Watch this." He flipped several switches, activating the chamber and kicking it into high gear.

I stared, open mouthed, as the storm inside the crystal ordered itself into a tornado of electrical power. A stable tornado of electrical power. I looked at Chara.

He smirked. "Someone figured out how to make cyclone chambers actually work as an energy source."

"Who built this ship?"

Chara frowned. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out. I've been scouring every inch of this thing to find a name, a maker's mark, or even a seal from a supplier and I haven't found anything. I've asked Alphys and Professor Bevan to come by tomorrow morning and have a look."

"Good idea." I looked through the doorway. "Hey, Ceph? Have you found anything in the papers?"

He shook his pale head, white hair swinging a little. "Nothing. No bills of sale. No records. Not even a proper captain's log. The papers appear to be notes about various things that Flood kept. It does say that he stole the ship from a Miles Gurd." He shrugged. "I can visit City Hall in the morning to look him up." His stomach growled loudly and he blushed. "Sorry! The talk of the baking made me hungry."

Chara laughed, he turned off the cyclone chamber, returning it to it's stormy stand by state. "Then let's call it a night and have some dinner. Tomorrow's the end of summer science fair and, despite how much I want to study the Curio, I really want to see the new inventions." After a round of washing up and a nice dinner of vegetable stew with yeast rolls, we settled into bed for the night.

Deep in the night, a boney hand gently shook me awake. "*hey kiddo. undyne needs you."

I sat up, pulling my hand from Cephas' grasp. "What's going on?" I whispered.

Sans shook his head. "*don't know."

Cephas, woken by the sudden lack of my nearness, rolled to his feet and pulled off his bed clothes.

"You don't have to get up, Ceph. Go back to sleep."

He shook his head. "I'm coming with you," he whispered sleepily as he dressed.

I chose not to argue. It was strange to have more than Chara around, and while Cephas was timid by nature, he refused to let that stop him from being my confidant. We dressed quickly, and Sans short cut us to outside the downtown police precinct. The moon was high and round, but not quite full while the streets were empty but for the occasional police officer and early bird worker heading into the Moonlight All Night Diner across the street. Cephas ran in to the diner and came back out with coffee for both of us. We headed inside the precinct, the roasted brews waking us up enough that the bright lights inside the building weren't headache inducing.

Undyne leaned against a desk, arms crossed over her chest, red hair falling in a cascade over her right shoulder. Mary, in her formal, green, Knight of the Oak uniform dress, sat with a Fae woman of exquisite beauty. Her skin looked to have been carved directly from pink marble with all it's undulating striations. Her pale gray, cat slit eyes were half lidded in sorrow, delicate pink marble hands desperately clinging to Mary who gently rocked her. Undyne caught sight of us and inclined her head toward the hall. Ceph and I both waved and Mary gave us a tired smile as we passed. We followed Undyne down the hall to the cells.

"I don't know if this needs your attention or not. But on the off chance that it might, I wanted you to know from the beginning. Just around midnight, Layeth Glynfir, the Fae woman back there with Mary, and her husband Durlan were walking home after a late meal when they were attacked. Durlan held off their attacker just long enough for Layeth to get away. She found a beat cop nearby, but when they came back, Durlan was dead, and his attacker was eating him. The beat cop whistled for help and several officers were able to take the attacker into custody."

Undyne sighed as she stopped in front of a cell. "We're still waiting on a thorough blood check, but the street test we use for lycanthropy came up negative. Now we're just waiting for an ID on the attacker."

I looked through the cell bars at the woman curled up in a corner, watching us like a caged animal and dropped my coffee. The cup hit the floor with a splash across my boots, but I was gripping the bars too hard to really give it any mind. "You don't need to wait for an ID," my voice trembled. "I know that woman. Her name is Myrtle Hannon. I met her earlier today."

Cephas looked from me to the woman who looked less like the grandmother I met earlier today and more like a beaten dog, watching for the right moment to strike. "Myrtle Hannon? She's a noble. A blood relation to Duke Evermonk. There's no history of lycanthropy or anything like mental illness in her family."

"What happened to her?" I whispered. I looked to Undyne. "Send me the results of the blood test."

"Will do. Sorry to have you up so early, punk."

"It's fine." I looked down at the coffee and sighed. "Sorry to make a mess of the floor." Undyne waved it off as I looked up at Mrs. Hannon through the cell bars, and thought about her family.

Cephas pulled on my arm. "Let's see if Mary needs anything."

We headed back into the lobby to find a Fae of great physical strength and skin reminiscent of the striation you get when you cut open a mountain, a noble of House Ogma. He spoke quietly with Layeth and Mary. He straightened when Undyne came in, prepared to make some demand. What ever was about to pass his lips died there when he saw Cephas and I.

"A Grand Prince and the human grandson of Angolon? Is this something that merits the attention of the Imperial Family?"

I frowned. "I think it might. By chance I met the attacker at lunch yesterday. She was celebrating her immanent grandmotherhood."

Layeth looked between us all. "Then the tragedy here is greater than mine alone." She stood. "I wish to go home."

By the tone of her voice, I knew she didn't mean her house.

Mary quickly grabbed her hands. "Please. Don't go."

Layeth looked sadly at Mary, and touched her cheek with a delicate hand. "I must be with my love." She turned and left, escorted away by the member of House Ogma.

Mary's head dropped, hugging herself. I put my arms around her, and she laid her head on my shoulder. "What's going on, Frisk?"

"I don't know. I don't have enough information." I patted her back. "Want some breakfast?"

She shook her head. "Just sleep."

"Do you want us to take you to the Autumn?"

She sighed. "I might wake up Anne if I head back and I'll definitely wake Asriel."

"Well, I'm up," Cephas stated. "And I'm sure Frisk is up too."

I nodded. "Moonlight coffee is strong."

"You can sleep in our bunk at the Shipworks," Ceph offered.

She gave us an exhausted smile. "I'll take it."

Sans short cut us back to the Shipworks and the smell of bacon greeted us. Chara sat on the bench outside Dr. Gaster's office, models he'd drawn of the cyclone chamber in his hands.

"Can't sleep?"

He smiled wryly. "Can either of us sleep when the other's gone?"

I sighed. "No. Never."

"Morning, Mary. I made breakfast for us."

"Morning, Chara. I'll take a bed."

Chara stood. "I'll set some food aside for when you wake up."

"Thank you."

I walked Mary to the gilded elevator and up to the second floor mezzanine. I helped her out of her uniform dress and laid it gently on my dressing table. She waved me off when I offered to help with the corset, opting to sleep in it. She settled in the bed Cephas and I shared at the Shipworks, Stephen still asleep in the bunk above her.

"When you want your bed back, just wake me," she whispered.

I squeezed Mary's hand. "Never. Sleep tight." I pulled the blanket up to her chin, her eyes already closed. When I descended the stairs, Chara had set the table in the kitchen and Cephas was pouring the tea. I sat down next to Sans as Chara put a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of me.

"So what's going on?"

I shrugged and then shuddered. "A woman I met yesterday attacked and killed a Fae male."

Chara frowned. "Lycanthropy?"

I shook my head. "I'm waiting for the blood test." I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Five in the morning."

I groaned. "Find out anything else from the papers?"

Chara smiled. "Yes. Flood really, really, hates me."

I snorted at his delight. "We know that from his attempt to assault you during his trial. Beside that."

"Not much. Flood really didn't understand how the _Curio_ worked and he certainly didn't have the technical knowledge required to maintenance it. It's a testament to the ship's creator that it continued to work optimally despite the lack of any kind of up keep."

"I see you were working out the cyclone chamber."

Chara flipped the eggs in the pan in front of him. "I think... I think I can replicate it."

Sans sipped his cup of orange marmalade. "*you think so?"

He plated the eggs and paused for a moment staring into space. "Yes. I'd want to try it at the abandoned quarry in Fletcher, but yeah. I think I could do it."

I watched my brother. I knew that far off look. He was constructing the engine block in his head, his imagination working over the system. The cyclone chamber had caught him. He'd always wanted to work with one despite the danger. But he'd avoided it from lack of equipment and research. Now he had one in his hands that worked properly and he wasn't going to let it slip from him.

"I wonder how many times the _Curio_ changes hands?" Cephas mused over his eggs. "And if someone tinkered with it since?"

Chara, broken from his reverie, nodded. "I don't know about the change of hands, but I can say how many people have touched it besides the creator. Two. One person attempted to pull parts of the ship apart to figure out how it worked and stopped so as not to ruin the ship. I'm pretty sure who ever did it thought they had the required knowledge and when they figured out that they were in over their head, they stopped. The second person added a few things, but they looked to be about luxury rather than actual upgrades.

We all looked up at the sound of footsteps above us.

Cephas sat back, sipping his tea. "Stephen's up."

Chara and I jumped to our feet. "Someone's on the roof."

I rushed to the stairs while Chara took the ladder just outside the kitchen door. Sans leisurely stood, preparing to short cut. We got to the roof just in time to see someone in a dark blue, imperial guard uniform jumping into the air, wing pack opening up as they flew off into the lightening horizon.

Chara groaned. "I don't want to wake up Mary." He trudged over to the stairs and slid down the railing to the mezzanine on his back side. I followed as he knocked quietly on door.

"Why are you knocking?" Stephen asked.

Chara opened the door . "Because Mary's still sleeping," he whispered.

Stephen saw the head of dark hair on my pillow and blushed, likely from having inadvertently dressed in front of a woman.

I chuckled softly and shook Mary's shoulder. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we need to ask you a question."

Mary rolled to her back and smiled at me sleepily. "It's all right." She sat up, holding the blanket to her chest, and Stephen looked away quickly. "What do you need?"

"Who in the imperial guard is trained for wing packs?" Chara asked.

She frowned. "Full wing or partial jet pack?"

"Full wing."

"Undyne, Wilson, Lesser Dog, Dexter Palmer, Lavie Tidhar, and Alice Luxon."

"I know all of those names except Alice Luxon. Is she new?"

Mary nodded. "I'm honestly not sure how she gained admittance to the guard. She only just recently became a citizen of the empire. Someone Undyne trusted must of vouched for her."

"*i did."

We all looked at Sans, leaning against the doorjamb with his arms across his chest.

"*she's got a... particular skill set that undyne can use and feels that she owes a very large, personal debt to the imperial family."

"Do you know what that debt is?" Chara and I asked.

Sans winked at us. "*i've got an idea or two." He stood up straight. "*i'd say that we should let mary get back to sleep, but a pair of large feet just set off one of my security bones. i'll go put on more water so asriel and anne can have some tea." He disappeared.

I helped Mary stand, and Chara howled at Stephen's expression as he quickly turned his back.

Mary's lips curled into a wicked smile, and she leaned around to look up at Stephen's red face. "Would you be so kind as to help me with my dress, Stephen?"

His mouth dropped open. "Mary!"

She feigned polite dismay. "Oh, I apologize! I should have realized that it would be too much for you. Chara?"

My brother lifted her knight's uniform dress and helped her step into it. Once it was fully buttoned, he smoothed out the skirt.

"Stephen Keenan Plant!" Az yelled from the door. "How dare you just watch a lady dress? Frisk and Chara are like brothers to her, having been orphans together, but you are young noble! I expect better behavior from a second!"

I caught sight of Anne and Cephas behind her, shaking in their attempt to keep their laughter inside.

Stephen's shoulders and head fell, defeated. Anne and Cephas finally let loose, their laughter filling the room.

Mary gently pushed his red fringe out of his face. "Canaille," she whispered.

He sighed and gave her a wry smile. "Chou." He offered her an arm and she took it, letting him escort her to the gilded lift and down to the kitchen. I offered Anne my arm and she took it with a radiant smile. We gathered around the table while Chara worked on making more food. Sans disappeared for a moment only to return with a box of pastries from Muffett's.

Anne gratefully accepted a plate of eggs with toast. "I was not aware that you could cook, Chara."

Mary poured a cup of tea for herself. "All of us can. Sister Agnes would not let any of us get away without knowing how to cook, sew, clean, repair, and knit."

Anne smiled at me. "You can knit?"

Asriel smiled deviously. "Where do you think I get all those beautiful scarves and shawls, Anne?"

Chara spun toward our sister. "You take that back! You know I've made every single one!"

Asriel laughed and held up both hands in surrender. "All right! All right!"

I leaned in toward Anne. "What my brother means to say without embarrassing me is that I'm hopeless at knitting."

The bell on the door rang as Alphys arrived with Professor Bevan. They spoke excitedly while Jenny watched the lizard woman with some trepidation.

She smiled brightly when she saw Chara and I. "Your Imperial Highnesses!" The hitch in her voice regarding our titles was non-existent. It had melted away with her gratitude.

"Are you wanting for breakfast?" Chara asked. "It comes with bragging rights. You can say a grand prince cooked for you."

"Though no one will ever believe it," Stephen snickered.

Jenny sighed with relief as she sat. "If you are so obliged, I will take breakfast."

The Professor's jaw dropped. "But we ate breakfast!"

Jenny huffed. "No. You ate breakfast. I was busy cleaning up after the automaton you said would make my life easier."

Cephas chuckled. "So how long have you two been married?"

Both of them flushed, instantly embarrassed.

Chara set a plate of eggs and toast in front of Jenny. "Still working on that, huh?"

"I can't marry her! She's a noble! I'm just an academic and..." He trailed off at Jenny's crestfallen expression. "Oh." He sat down next to Jenny, taking her hand in his and holding it to his chest. "I am so very sorry, my lady. I only thought that you had taken the job to provide for yourself. I did not believe that-"

Jenny leaned in swiftly and kissed him.

Alphys stole a spider doughnut and the attention of the crowded kitchen. "So what do you want us to look at, Chara?"

Chara turned off the stove and untied his apron. "That beauty of a ship you both ogled when you came in is the amphibious _Curio_. It's a self maintaining air and submersible craft with a perfected cyclone chamber engine."

"Impossible!" The Professor started, looking away from Jenny, while she giggled softly at his predictableness.

"Completely possible. I spent what little time I slept last night dreaming about the circuitry. I'm pretty sure Frisk and I can replicate it. What I'm wondering is, who made it? I'm hoping that the design of the ship might give the two of you a few ideas as to who might have created it."

Both nodded, excited to get started. Professor Bevan kissed Jenny's hand before following Chara back into the main hangar. Anne and Mary opted to stay behind with Jenny while the rest of us headed into the _Curio_.

Alphys looked around the interior, noting the curve of the haul and the uniqueness of the interior. "Well, my observation to start is that this was built by a human and someone who didn't have working knowledge of monsters based on the dimensions. I would say, by the style of the stained glass decorations, that the ship is at least sixteen years old."

"Bromer," the Professor whispered.

I turned. "Come again, Prof. Bevan?"

"This is Edmund Bromer's work."

Chara shook his head. "No way."

"Yes. I'll stake my reputation on it." The Professor touched the control panel, marveling over the intricate details. "I knew the man and studied the his work extensively. I even wrote my doctoral thesis on it. Edmund Bromer built this ship."

Az leaned in to whisper. "Who is Edmund Bromer?"

"An amazing engineer of unsurpassed genius. He died under mysterious circumstances while traveling outside the Empire. Everyone in the airship industry is familiar with his discoveries. Even sixteen years on, we still use his original Aether Engine design."

"So why not use the Aether Engine here? Why the Cyclone chamber?" Alphys mused.

"Lift," Chara answered. "To go directly from the water to the air in one smooth motion requires a lot of lift and a standard Aether Engine can't provide that. A cyclone chamber can."

Professor Bevan turned from the control panel. "Show me the chamber."

I nodded and everyone followed me into the engine room. Chara opened the casing and flipped the switches. The perfect tornado of electrical energy formed and spun into high gear. Alphys and the Professor both stared at it, before both scrambling to the read out panels, looking over the information, running down the screen.

The Professor turned to Chara very slowly. "Do you really believe you can replicate this?"

Chara nodded. "Yes."

Professor came up to both of us and adjusted his glasses, looking at us both like he was seeing us for the first time. And not in the way that someone who had long dismissed us did. The Professor wasn't like that at all. It was more like, he was finally seeing a long lost friend after years apart. "I will loan you what I have on Bromer's work."

"Thank you."

"When you attempt the build, I would like to see it," Alphys said.

"Do you still want me to visit City Hall to look up Miles Gurd?" Cephas asked.

Chara shook his head. "No. I would like your help digging through the books in my study. I need to know more about Bromer if I'm going to be working in the machinery."

"What where you doing yesterday in the control panel if you weren't working on it?" Cephas asked.

Chara blinked. "Cleaning it. Seriously. It's like no one who ever had the ship thought to do that."

A watch alarm went off and Alphys pulled out her pocket watch to turn it off. "Well, I need to be off. Mettaton agreed to help me show off Greg's new insta-bread line and I don't wish to be late." She smiled, teeth pointy. "I'm hoping the show will draw the crowd from that Woodward charlatan." She tiptoed down the gang plank, surprisingly light footed for such a large lizard.

"Are you showing today, Professor?" I asked as we headed back to the kitchen.

"I have a device or two on display, but no shows. I really dislike doing demonstrations." He coughed politely, looking at the kitchen door. "And I believe I have a much more pressing matter to attend too."

As the Professor collected Jenny and left, Wilson came in the hangar with a guardswoman I hadn't met. Mr. Larkin and his assistant came in behind them with several boxes.

Mary elbowed me. "That's Alice Luxon."

Miss Luxon was tall, thin, and approaching middle age by the gray that touched the hair tied into a severe bun. She and Wilson both wore the 'flashier' version of the guard uniform. The one worn when they wanted to be completely visible to everyone around them. They bowed to my siblings and I, Miss Luxon in the old fashion style with her hand over her heart. Though her expression was carefully neutral, something about her was off. Chara frowned when he saw her and turned away. Had they previously met? I'd have to ask him later.

Mr. Larkin skipped the formalities and went right to handing out boxes. "Frisk. Chara. Stephen. Cephas." He turned to his assistant and handed out the rest of the boxes. "Lady Anne. Lady Mary. And Her Imperial Highness. Mrs. Delilah Green sends her apologies that she cannot be here to be sure that the dresses are a perfect fit. That said, I'm sure the boys will vouch for my abilities in her absence."

Asriel's eyes lit up. "Did she have the baby?"

"Indeed!" Mr. Larkin smiled brightly. "Abigail Green was born early this morning and comes in at 51 centimeters and half a stone!"

A round of 'ahs' escaped us before the girls kicked Sans out of his office and us boys retired to the room upstairs to change. As usual, Chara and I had matching suits and vests. Ceph and Stephen also matched.

"I don't think I've ever had a suit this nice," Stephen commented, looking at himself in the mirror.

Cephas nodded. "Agreed."

Chara put his hands on their shoulders. "Come on. I want to see what Mrs. Green made for the girls." He turned to me. "You want to gift her with a year of diaper service? Or, if the diaper service has already been taken care of, housekeeping?"

I nodded. We headed back down to the hangar floor where Mr. Larkin was checking the drape on Asriel's white satin and purple brocade dress. Mary's dress was a very simple, dark green with a lovely floral panel down the back. The embroidered white sash of her damehood was pinned neatly at her shoulder and again at her waist. And Anne...

An exquisite gown of floral patterned silk and lace with silk roses appliqued down the front, clung to her. Anne looked like a walking garden of late summer's glory. She held out her hand when she caught sight of me and I took it, lifting her arm. She turned in a slow circle to show off her new frock.

I smiled. "I do believe that Mrs. Green has completely out done herself."

"Agreed," Mr. Larkin intoned. "I've seen her create museum worthy gowns before, but this one is something very special."

I gently lowered Anne's arm as she turned, pulling her close to my side, hugging her against me softly. She blushed a little and pinched my arm for the trouble.

"Are we ready?" Asriel asked.

Everyone nodded and we headed to the two carriages that awaited us. Sans, Papyrus, and Dr. Gaster joined us for the ride into the Peace Blossom Plaza, in the middle of which was an immense, circular fountain with a colossal sculpture of a flower just beginning to unfurl. Vendors made a circle around the fountain up to the Grover Exhibition Arena. Inside the arena, scientists and inventors looking to demonstrate their creations and discoveries manned booths in long rows up and down the arena floor.

As promised, Mettaton, in all his gold and brass glory, performed up a storm for Alphys, and the crowd gathered around her booth was enormous. We took our time and kept close to make it easier for Wilson and Miss Luxon to watch over us while we perused the booths.

One booth had a horrifying automaton with the words 'NANNY BOT' inscribed across the chest. A small child wailed in it's arms.

"DO NOT CRY, LITTLE ONE. I HAVE REPLACED YOUR MOTHER." The automaton's mouth opened and a second set of jaws holding a bottle came out. The child took the bottle and quieted as it sucked.

We all cringed, backing away a little.

"That is horrifying," Mary gasped.

"No one but orphans should be allowed to make nanny bots," Chara hissed.

We passed two old men in a fist fight between the platforms of their respective booths, fighting over which one had the better 'kill-bot.' The kill-bots appeared to be having a nice tea time together. Rounding the first two rows, we went back outside for some lunch from the various vendors. As we finished our impromptu picnic next to the fountain, I caught site of someone wearing a necklace I recognized as being from Rainier's.

I gasped and smacked my own head. "I can't believe I forgot!" I sighed. "Chara? Mary? Simon, Darla, and Mimi say hello."

Mary smiled. "I haven't seen them in ages! Rainier's is around the corner right?"

I nodded.

"I'll be back in a moment, Az."

"What you mean to say is that you'll be back in an hour." Asriel smiled and hooked her arm in Stephen's. "Come along. Simon Rainier should not be made to suffer alone amongst us womenfolk."

"Tell them I said hello," Chara called as the three wandered off.

Miss Luxon made to follow, and Wilson put a hand on her shoulder. "Her Imperial Highness isn't up to anything in particular at the moment, so they'll be fine." He put his hands on mine and Chara's heads. "Not like these two."

Chara snorted. "Not up to anything? My sister just dragged Stephen off following Mary to a jewelers. I'd say she's up to a lot."

Wilson raised an eyebrow at Chara. "Fair enough. But you know exactly what I'm talking about."

I looked at Anne. "You aren't going along?"

She smiled, hooking her arm in mine. "And miss a day with you? Never. Thank you for treating me to lunch."

I leaned in to steal a kiss off her cheek and she giggled. Offering her my arm, we followed Chara and Cephas back into the arena. Mettaton was taking a break and gasped loudly when he saw Chara and I.

"Darlings!"

"Hello, Mettaton. How's the new body?"

He put out both arms, and turned, showing off his new, upgraded, chassis. "Marvelous! Alphys is truly a genius!"

Miss Luxon blinked at the two of us, honestly shocked.

Anne chuckled behind her hand. "You'll find, Miss Luxon, that Frisk and Chara have a tendency to say the same thing at the same time, though it's not as surprising as when they have entire conversations in a nonsense language and then ask you a question as if you understood everything they just spoke about."

Chara grimaced. "We're not that bad, are we?"

Mettaton snaked one of his arms around my brother. "Oh no, Darling! You're much worse."

Chara rolled his eyes. "Thanks, MTT. How's the show going?"

"Very well. I've been stumping Gregory Dwyer's fantastic instant bread. He's even made new types as well." He counted off on his metal fingers. "There's a yeast bread, a sweet cinnamon bread, a darkly delicious rye, and a phenomenal honey oat." He lifted a long arm and waved to the back of the booth. "Greg! The twins are here!"

Mr. Dwyer athletically leapt the front of Alphys booth. He bowed enthusiastically, smile impossibly wide. "Your Imperial Highnesses!"

I shook his hand. "It appears that your instant bread is doing well."

He shook Chara's after I let go. "After you two put in a good word for me with the with your Imperial Father and the Minister of State, I've had enough money to mass produce and expand. And I'm very grateful that Mettaton was willing to help us today. I'm not sure the show would have gone so well with Woodward being here."

I frowned. "Is his electrical-magnetic treatment really that that much of a show stopper?"

Mr. Dwyer frowned. "The word of mouth advertising from his 'patients' has preceded him, so everyone's been interested to see this new device. His demonstration is slick. He pulls random audience volunteers and has them sit for the procedure. But he won't let anyone close enough to his 'Full Health Machine' examine it."

"Are you sure the volunteers are random?" Chara asked.

Mr. Dwyer nodded. "He's taken everyone from noble to commoner; monsters, humans, and fae. He even took one of Alphys assistants. Everyone who comes down says they feel relaxed and recharged, like they had a massage." He huffed. "Something is just wrong with it. But I can't figure out what, and since I'm a food scientist, I don't have the required knowledge to figure it out."

I thought about it for a moment. "When is your next demonstration?"

Mettaton pulled out his pocket watch. "In a few minutes."

I nodded. "During your next show, we'll head over to see if we can get a better look at Woodward's device."

Both nodded.

"May I try a piece of the cinnamon bread?" Anne asked.

"Of course!" Mr. Dwyer picked up a tray from the booth. And within a moment a crowd started to gather around us, looking to sample whatever had the attention of the Imperial Family.

When MTT began his show, we snuck off. We found Cyril Woodward's booth in the next row. He was a young man with dark hair, brown eyes, and a seriously miffed expression at the crowd around Alphys booth. After a moment, he noticed that he had a few people gathered for his next demonstration. He immediately puffed up, giving us a dazzling smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I am Dr. Cyril Woodward and this is my fabulous, one of a kind, Full Health Machine!" He pulled a cloth away from a comfortable looking, brown leather chair. "It provides an electrical-magnetic treatment to sooth aching muscles, improve circulation, and make you feel young and chipper again! May I have a volunteer from the audience?"

He came down from his booth's platform and held out a hand to Anne. She feigned shyness, shaking her head as she ducked a bit behind me. Woodward smiled patiently and moved on, gesturing to Chara, Ceph, and I. I shook my head politely. Cephas waved him off in the most dismissive way I'd ever seen him muster. I suppose being around the rest of us had done a lot for his confidence. Chara raised an eyebrow at him, arms folded across his chest. But what discouraged him completely was the sudden, lethal menace that exuded from Miss Luxon. Woodward quickly moved on and chose a young noble woman from the crowd. She sniffed at us, as she passed, as if we were cowards for refusing.

Woodward settled her into the chair and carefully attached wires to her forehead, the exposed flesh of her chest, and both wrists. The machine hummed as he flipped a switch. Electricity arced over the woman in brilliant, colorful flashes. The woman stiffened for a few moments, grimacing in pain, before relaxing with a deep sigh. Woodward disconnected her from the chair and helped her stand.

"Oh! I feel incredible! Lighter even!" She leapt from the booth, landing easily, despite being in heeled boots.

"Doesn't she look refreshed, Ladies and Gentlemen?"

She grabbed the hand of the young man who'd come with her. "You must go next, Richard! You must!"

So persuaded, her companion went next, followed by several others.

Anne moved to stand between my brother and I. "Is it just me, or are the electrical flashes for show?"

"They're for show," Chara said.

"Something is wrong with her," Anne whispered. "I don't know what. It's like... something is gone."

I looked at her and she shrugged, unable to elaborate. She looked up at the next patient and shuddered. I put an arm around her.

"I agree," Cephas breathed. "Something is very wrong."

Chara frowned. "I've seen enough. Let's see if Az, Mary, and Stephen are back."

I nodded, and Anne took my arm as we headed down the row. We ran into Mary and Stephen in front of booth festooned with flowers and a horticulturalist showing Asriel a red worm composting method. Rather than exasperated, Stephen looked amused, and poked at her about this or that story he heard while in Rainier's shop.

Mary frowned when she saw Anne and grasped her hands. "Are you all right?" She looked to Chara and I. "What happened?"

"The demonstration of the Full Health Machine put us all off," I explained.

Mary gave Anne a patient smile and kissed her cheek. "Come along. There are a hundred other things to see here. And I'm pretty sure that Asriel will be bringing worms back to the palace."

"Just so long as she's the one carrying them," Wilson muttered.

Anne laughed and Az gave us a half hearted glare over her shoulder. Worms paid for and instruction in their proper care given, Chara was the one who ended up carrying the box. Not that he minded.

After making a go of the last row, we talked about which booths we wanted to see again. After a little bit of route planning, Anne and Chara were first with small mechanical spiders made to mend torn clothing. The spiders were about the size of your standard tarantula and skittered all over the booth, looking for fabric that needed mending and swiftly putting it back together. Looking around, Chara spotted some familiar skulls and waved Dr. Gaster, Sans, and Papyrus over to have a look. One of the little spiders crawled up Asriel's arm and sat on her shoulder, refusing to leave.

The elderly lady in the booth gasped. "I apologize, Mademoiselle! My little mechanical friends have minds of their own. And I do mean that literally."

She reached over for the spider and gently removed it, only for it to leap back onto Asriel's arm, climb up to her shoulder, and sit down. Az sighed and held out her hand for the spider. It dutifully leapt into her hand and she turned it, looking it over.

"Are you selling today?" Asriel asked.

"I was only demonstrating today in hopes of orders. Do you really want her?"

Asriel lifted a claw over her sleeve and paused. "Not a single one of you will tell Mrs. Green that I did this." She ripped open the sleeve. The spider crawled up to the tear and mended it swiftly, as if it had never been torn. Az smiled appreciatively and put the spider on her shoulder. "I will name you Singer." She stepped forward to pay while the good Doctor and his skeletal employees discussed how many they wanted to order for the Shipworks.

Wilson tugged on my sleeve and nodded toward Dr. Gaster. "So why would the Shipworks be interested in those?"

"They would be invaluable for balloon ship repairs."

Wilson's face lit up. "That's pretty ingenious."

We followed Stephen to a booth demonstrating a new type of rifle that allowed several types of ammunition from hollow tips to tranquilizers to load in a single chamber. Cephas and I drooled over the new roller coaster designs at the Thrill Factor booth. Mary's interest was last in the route, a booth dedicated to new, small radios.

Chara elbowed Stephen. "If her excited chattering with the inventor wasn't a clue, Mary loves radios, and that's everything from how they're made to anything you can hear on them."

He leaned to Chara, arms crossed over his chest. "I don't know who's worse. You or your Imperial Sister."

"Asriel. Definitely."

Stephen huffed. "I already bought her one for her birthday while Az had her distracted."

My brother chuckled smugly. Our rounds done, we retired to the plaza to await the carriages, enjoying the soft glow of the August evening. Papyrus sat with Chara, both chatting away about the things they found of interest, while Sans sat next to me.

The skeleton motioned to Miss Luxon who watched our surroundings with a keen eye. "*whatcha think, kiddo?"

"That she's hiding something."

"*aren't we all?"

"Chara doesn't like her."

"*does he like anyone?"

I elbowed Sans in the ribs and received a chuckle for my efforts.

"*i'm just razzing ya, kid." His eye sockets settled on my brother. "*he's come a long way."

I looked at my brother. Even turned away, he knew I was watching, and turned to give me a smile.

xxx

What has happened to poor Mrs. Hannon? Why is Lady Anna so put off by the Full Health Machine? And just who is the mysterious Miss Luxon? Find out this and more in next week's exciting conclusion of "The Full Health Machine" Part 2!


	5. The Full Health Machine, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep. 4: The Full Health Machine, Part 2

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! In tonight's episode, Frisk's skills are put to the test as the full horror of Mrs. Hannon's condition spreads to others in rapid succession!

xxx

That night, something chased me as I ran for the Shipworks. I struggled to keep my feet as it hunted me through dark, rain slick streets. Gasping desperately for air, I rounded a corner and looked for an escape. Any escape. The alley was nothing but brick on either side. No doors. No windows. No hanging fire escapes. A snarl in my ear had me running again, slipping on the wet cobblestones, and crashing into a near wall as I tried to get as much distance as I could. Whatever hunted me was humanoid by the way it ran, but I couldn't get a real look at it. The darkness and my own mounting terror drove me to keep my eyes forward. I tripped, scrambling on the cobblestone only to have the claws sink into my back.

I sat bolt upright in bed, Chara leaning over me, a hand on my shoulder. He held a softly glowing, crystal lamp over me.

"You all right, Frisk?"

I nodded and settled back against my pillow, breathing heavily. Chara knelt next to me, dark circles under his eyes.

"Can't sleep?"

He snorted, red eyes gleaming. "Since when have we not shared a nightmare? That one was terrifying. I woke myself up pretty quick."

I looked over at Ceph. He laid with his back to me. I sighed, happy I hadn't woken him. The door bursting open made us all jump. Undyne stood in the doorway, Captain's uniform half shredded, covered in blood and... dust. Oh no. I jumped out of bed, grabbing my clothes.

"What happened?"

Undyne snarled, pointy teeth looking especially dangerous. "Multiple attacks like the one from last night, all over the city. And I can't find a common denominator. Humans, monsters, fae, male, female, young and old, noble and commoner."

I froze and looked at her. "Was one of the monsters one of Alphys' assistants?"

Undyne nodded.

I pulled up my pants and snapped my suspenders into place. "I need to see the attackers you caught."

Stephen rolled from the top bunk as Cephas stood, both rushing to dress.

Undyne's glowing, yellow eyes followed me around the room. "You have an idea."

"I have a hunch."

Chara pulled on his coat and we ran down the steps to where Sans waited, hands shoved in the pockets of brown suit jacket. He took us on a short cut to the mid town precinct. We were met by several officers in uniform at the door.

"We've had to separate the prisoners, ma'am. They were attacking each other."

Undyne nodded. "His Imperial Highness wants to see them."

The officer bowed to me. "You'll need to stay back from the bars, Sir. Several of them were reaching through."

I nodded. He took us inside a overly bright lobby and through a heavy metal door on the left to the cell block. Unlike quiet Mrs. Hannon, everyone in here screamed and clamored at the bars, the cacophony making us wince. I stared in horror, recognizing the faces of people from the fair. The young noble woman who'd undergone the treatment while we watched snarled at me, reaching through the bars of her cell to grab at me. Chara, Cephas, and I froze for a moment.

"*Frisk!"

I heard Sans, but couldn't react in time. One of the imprisoned wrenched the door to their cell open, metal scraping against metal, and slammed into me, forcing me into the bars of the cell of the noblewoman. Snarling, she grabbed my hair, fingers sinking into my arm and wrenched at me, looking to bite my neck. The familiar shing of blue magic filled the air and everyone in the room was suddenly held in place. Sans, one eye glowing a bright green, stood in the doorway with his left hand up.

"*this is bad."

He released Chara, Cephas, Stephen, Undyne, and I from his blue magic hold. Slowly, I attempted to extricate myself from the noblewoman looking to tear out my throat. She refused to let go, hissing and snarling through the blue magic. Chara frowned and grabbed the hand holding my hair, pulling back on the fingers, trying to loosen her without hurting her. Undyne grabbed the woman's arm and snapped it like a twig. The noblewoman howled in pain. She let go of me, stumbling to the back of the cell and curling up on herself on the floor. I fell against Chara, and he helped me regain my feet.

I opened my mouth to ask Undyne if that was necessary and stopped. She glowered at the woman with an undisguised intent to kill. Sometimes I forgot how protective my favorite fish was of my brother and I. Frowning viciously, she turned to Sans. "What's your magic telling you?"

Sans pulled the soul from the man who'd wrenched the door of his cell open just to attack me. It was cracked. He pulled the other souls as well, straining under the considerable effort, sweat forming on his skull. Every soul was cracked, broken, or missing pieces.

"What are we looking at exactly?" Stephen asked.

"You are looking at their souls," Chara answered. "The very culmination of their beings. Except the souls are in bad shape. It's why they've gone mad."

I frowned. "Woodward's Full Health Machine did this."

"Cyril Woodward?" Undyne smiled, all sharp teeth, but it wasn't happy. "I'll send a few people to pick him up."

"Don't rough him up or harm his machine. We may need both to reverse the process."

"Monster food should set everyone to rights," Chara said. He looked at his pocket watch. "It's four in the morning. Too early for Muffett's to be open, but she'll be in there getting the first batch of spider donuts in. Let's go get them while Undyne rounds up Woodward."

Sans waited until we had left the room to put the escapee back in his cell and close door with a bone barrier. He short cut us to Muffett's and as Chara predicted, we saw light from the oven room through the back window. I knocked on the door. "Muffett! It's me! Frisk! I need monster food and a lot of it!"

Muffett unlocked the back door, the delicious smell of yeasty donuts and breads following her. "Come into my parlor, dearies!" She giggled behind one of her six, violet hands as we entered. "Will you take yesterday's leftovers? It's all I have at the moment."

I nodded. "It will do." I pulled out my wallet and Muffett waved for me to stop.

"It's obviously an emergency." She shoved two large bags filled with spider doughnuts into my hands. "Just take them, deary."

"Thank you." I kissed her cheek quickly. "I'll make good on this. Promise."

She waved me off with a giggle, two hands shooing me, while another covered her mouth.

We rushed back to the precinct and found the girls in the lobby, each wearing the dark blue bloomers and white button downs under dark jackets with the Delta Rune in white on the sleeves that were special order from Mr. Larkin for their particular adventures. They were speaking with the Lord of House Nuada and a large fae who looked to be sculpted tiger eye stone give life: the Lord of House Ogma. Asriel and Anne held Mary's hands in theirs, but it did little to quell her shaking. Even becoming an ambassador to the fae in all but name, Mary was still overwhelmed in the presence of the Fae Lords.

Anne saw me and I hugged her close, uncaring about the impropriety of doing so. "You were right about something being drawn away." I held her at arms length. "Their souls are damaged."

She nodded, emerald eyes troubled. "Sans showed us. The Lords of House Nuada and House Ogma are discussing what will happen to the fae who are affected. One of the imprisoned is the heir to House Ogma."

"We've got two bags full of spider doughnuts. It should heal the damage to their souls."

Anne looked over her shoulder toward the door. "From the look of a few back there, you may have to force feed a few of them."

Chara smiled. "That's what blue magic is for!"

I turned to Sans. "Ready?"

He nodded, looking tired but ready. "*i've got your back, kid."

We headed back to the cells and the officers started handing out the spider doughnuts. Some of the imprisoned snatched the food from their hands, others would only accept it if we set it on the floor. And, as Anne predicted, some of them had to be force fed. Slowly, the humans and monsters returned to normal and stared in shock at their surroundings. The fae, however, remained wild and violent.

Cephas looked around in panic. "Why isn't it working for the fae?"

The Lords of House Ogma and Nuada came into the cell area, followed by the girls.

"Fae are not made of the same physical matter as humans and are even less substantial than monsters," the Lord of House Nuada explained. "The damage wrought upon a fae soul is beyond healing."

The Lord of House Ogma's voice trembled with a deep pain. "They must go to their ancestors."

Mary suddenly let go of Asriel, hands fisted with determination. "No! There has to be a way to save them too!"

Cephas looked around, almost afraid to speak up. "What about the Mystical Flowers of Nathirna? Their petals can heal any injury."

The Lord of House Ogma shook his head. "The Flowers of Nathirna could heal the wounded souls, but to claim them is a task no one has managed in two thousand years."

Mary clutched at Asriel, cowering under the sudden attention of the Lord of House Nuada, but still refusing to give up. "Is that our best option?"

The Lord of House Nuada stepped up to Mary, gently touching her shoulder. She gripped Asriel tightly so as not to swoon. "It is the only thing that would help them. But the Lord of House Ogma is correct. It is a task beyond us."

I tapped Cephas's shoulder to get him to look at me. "What do we have to do?"

"You have to solve a riddle and you only get one chance to try, ever. The riddle changes for each person. And, uh, the Lord is correct. No one's been able to claim the flowers in two thousand years."

Mary looked to Cephas. "There's seven of us, two of whom are geniuses. I'm pretty sure we can put our bets on Frisk and Chara." She turned to the Fae Lords, placing her hand over her heart, still shaking as she bowed. "Please. Please let us have this chance. Give us enough time to try."

The Lord of House Nuada watched her with a curious expression and gently laid a hand like the most delicate tree branch on her head. "We will wait on you. When you have tried, come to my hall. We will await you there." He pulled his hand back, and we all looked to Cephas.

"Where do we go and what do we do, Ceph?" Chara asked.

"To any Fae burial mound. There we cast the spell that summons the guardians."

Mary looked around, orienting herself by the little she could see through the tiny windows in the cells. "The Mound of House Ogma is the closest. It's just across the Vasp Run. Do we need anything for the spell?"

Cephas shook his head. "It's an incantation. The person who wants to summon the guardians says it and they give you a riddle. And, uh, on a very important note, only six of us can try."

We all looked at him.

He stared at his feet. "I tried when my grandfather grew ill after the death of my grandmother."

Anne put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Oh Ceph."

He hugged her back, before holding her at arms length. "We have to hurry." As we ran for the ferry, Cephas recited the incantation. We practiced it as we were carried across the river by the Riverperson.

The burial mound of House Ogma was larger than the commoner's mound and blue, fairy fire braziers lit the area with an otherworldly brilliance. Tiny blue flowers covered the grassy top. A single entrance led down into the crypt. Asriel stepped up to the entrance and recited the incantation. The entrance to the mound glowed softly from within. Several wispy, white spirits flew out, surrounding Asriel. She closed her eyes as they whispered in her ear.

Asriel giggled. "That's easy! It's thistle!" The spirits disappeared. Her eyes popped open and she sighed before laughing bitterly. "Oh. The answer is so obvious now that I've thought about it."

She stepped aside and Chara went next. The spirits moved about him and he stood for a few minutes, thinking over the whispered riddle carefully. "42." The spirits disappeared again. Chara's jaw dropped and he covered his face with his hand. "It wasn't a math riddle."

Anne patted his shoulder as she took his place. The spirits circled her. She turned her head to look at them after hearing their riddle. She stood their for a good ten minutes thinking about her answer before shaking her head. "A rooster." The spirits disappeared. Her shoulders dropped.

Stephen took her place as she went to stand next to Az. The spirits moved around him and whispered in his ear. "An egg." The spirits disappeared. He sighed and trudged back to stand next to Mary. "I'm sorry."

She gave him a little smile and took his hand, squeezing it as I stood before the entrance. I spoke the incantation and the doorway glowed. In the doorway, I could see another world. A place of heavenly delight and rest after the long trials of life. A garden full of flowers in lush, full bloom beckoned, and many fae who had long left this world, walked peacefully among them. The mythical cure in sight, but just out of reach, I spoke the incantation. Several of those who walked among the flowers, turned toward me. As they came out of the entrance, they turned into wispy beings to surround me. I could feel a gentle tickle against my ears as they whispered.

"Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?"

"None of them!" I blurted.

The spirits disappeared.

Chara looked at me. "Frisk?"

The answer suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked at my brother. "I feel just a little cheated." I turned to Mary. "I'm sorry."

She looked at the doorway, blue eyes filled with despair. The pressure was now squarely on her shoulders. She took a breath and it came out as a shudder. "Any advice?"

I thought about it. "It seems that the answer to the riddle came after we'd already flubbed it. So when you think of an answer, keep it in, and wait for a second one."

Mary nodded and, trembling, she stepped up to the door, speaking the incantation. The spirits circled her and she nodded before counting on her fingers, adding up a ridiculous amount of numbers in her head. When she'd finished counting, she paused, staring at her hands. She blinked, looking up at the wisps. "One. Only me."

The spirits suddenly reached out and pulled her forward. She tumbled into the entrance and the otherworldly garden beyond. We rushed to the entrance only to be blinded by a flash of light. The entrance into the mound was dark again. Mary was hunched over, hair covering her face, holding up her skirt as if she were using it to carry something. The fabric slipped from her hands, empty.

She fell to her knees, face in her hands, weeping. "No! No! I grabbed as many flowers as I could! Why? Why are they gone?!"

Stephen knelt in front of her, gently pulling her hands from her face. We all stared, mouths agape.

"Mary?" He gently shook her. "Chou?" He touched her face, fingers brushing lightly against the flowers that appeared to be painted on her skin. "The flowers aren't gone. They are in you."

She sniffed daintily and looked up at him. "What do you...?" She trailed off, glimpsing her hands and arms. Unbuttoning her blouse at the neck, she opened it to reveal more flowers and curling vines over her pale skin. She looked at Cephas. "Is this supposed to have happened?"

Ceph looked completely at a loss, shaking his head.

Asriel moved us along. "Let's hurry back. Maybe the Lord can do something with this."

Stephen helped Mary to her feet and we rushed back to the ferry. Mary gripped the watercraft's railings tightly, jumping with her impatience. Stephen put his arms around her, attempting to quell her nervous energy. As soon as the ship landed we raced through the streets to the House of Nuada. The guard at the door saw us and dropped to one knee, bowing deeply.

We stopped, looking at each other. Even for Mom and Dad, they didn't bow like this. The door opened and we went inside. The serving girl inside the door saw us and immediately knelt, falling to her knees, hands clasped in front of her bowed head. Two Fae men walking down the hall saw us and immediately knelt as the guard had.

Chara leaned over. "Ceph? What's going on?"

"I have no idea."

Mary grabbed Stephen's hands. "Come on. The main hall is this way."

We rushed down a pale blue hall lit by glowing flames that floated above our heads to the massive doors that marked the entrance to the Lord's throne room. We pushed the ornately carved doors open, with a resounding boom. The mass of gathered Fae fell silent at the intrusion, watching the us with keen, cat slit eyes in a white hall that glowed golden and yellow in the light of fire that dominated the back end of the room. Mary paid them no mind as she rushed to the Lord of House Nuada. I stopped running after her, slowing to watch as the Fae we passed stepped back to the white columns that lined the hall and knelt.

Mary stopped short in front of the Lord, gasping. She held up trembling hands, legs suddenly unsteady, revealing the flowers. "We have the flowers. Please say that there is still time."

The Lord of House Nuada took her hands in his, and she went white as a sheet. Stephen immediately put his arm around her in case she fainted.

A strange sadness filled his cat slit eyes. "I have named you my daughter. You need never fear me, my child." He held up her hands. "Do you not wish to know what this is?"

"Yes," she managed through chattering teeth. "After... after we heal the broken souls."

He shook his head. "After you heal them." He pulled her to his side, supporting her with his arm. We followed as he led us beyond the white columns to a side door. The room beyond the door was long and windowless, made of a green flecked stone and lit by floating flames above our heads. Laying on beds that lined room, were the broken, each bound by magic to their beds. The Lord of House Ogma knelt next to the bed in which his struggling son lay. He looked up as we came in and his jaw dropped.

"Impossible," he breathed.

The Lord of House Nuada gestured to his captive brethren. "Simply touch them."

Mary nodded and nearly fell as she stepped up to the first Fae, who fought hard against his magical bounds. She gently laid her fingers on his forehead and he stilled, eyes calming before closing. She moved on to the next and the next and each one seemed to take more from her than the last. Cephas and Stephen caught her before she fell, helping her move from bed to bed, healing to healing. Anne held my hand tightly, biting her lip as we watched Mary struggle, tiring with each healing. She came to the heir of House Ogma last, only able to stand by Ceph and Stephen's strength alone. Her fingers touched his forehead and he stilled before she passed out. The Lord of House Ogma held his son close, unashamedly weeping in joy.

Cephas stepped back so Stephen could lift Mary, holding her close to his chest.

"Will she be all right?" Asriel asked.

The Lord of House Nuada looked down at us. "Rest and food will bring Her Majesty to rights."

"Her Majesty?!"

He gestured to Cephas. "Did you not tell them the great boon gained from answering the riddle?"

Cephas flushed, embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I honestly don't know what's going on. When I looked for the Flowers before, it was to heal my grandfather. I don't actually know anything else about them."

The Lord nodded in understanding. "Among the Fae, there are two ways in which to gain a noble title. The first is by birthright. The second is to earn it. By solving the riddle posed to her, Mary was given entrance to the other world, the land of our ancestors. To walk as a mortal in the land of dead affords you great boons. By gaining the flowers of Nathirna, the gift of healing was bestowed on her, and with it, a title not held for over two millennia. She is now, Her Serene Majesty, Mary Rood-Epherianferch ap Nuada, the Flower of Nathirna."

Stephen looked down at Mary's sleeping face. She shifted against him, resting her hand on his chest.

Sans suddenly appeared next to me. "*i apologize for the intrusion, but we have a problem."

"What problem?" Chara and I asked.

"*cyril woodward doesn't exist. his background, address, everything, is phoney. and we don't have any leads."

I snapped my fingers. "Yes we do! Myrtle Hannon! She actually went to him for the treatment." I looked to Mary. "We'll have to stop at the Autumn so Mary can sleep."

The Lord loomed over us. "I insist that you leave her here. I will not keep Mary should she wish to leave of her own accord, but I will not let my daughter rest outside my walls in her hour of need."

Anne turned to us. "I'll stay with her here."

Cephas held out his arms for Mary. "I'll stay too. It'll give us a chance to figure out the details and help Mary adjust."

Stephen sighed, reluctant to let go. He gently passed Mary to her Lord Father and came over to us. "Let's hurry. None of us have had breakfast and that's going to be bad if we don't resolve this soon." Stephen paused. He turned back the Lord of House Nuada, and gently pushed Mary's hair from her face, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "Chou."

"Canaille," she whispered.

He smiled and turned, placing his hand on Sans' arm. The world swirled to black and when color and light came back, we stood outside the downtown precinct. Inside, we found Mrs. Hannon sitting in the lobby with a few officers and the precinct's on duty doctor looking her over. A half eaten spider doughnut rested on a plate in her lap.

She frowned when she saw me, confused and tired. "Your Imperial Highness? Why am I in a police station and how did I get here? No one is answering my questions."

Chara and I looked at each other. "You don't remember what happened?"

She shook her head. "The last thing I remember, I was walking home by the river. After that, I was sitting in a cell eating a doughnut I'd been given by an officer."

I sighed, unexpectedly relieved that she couldn't remember. "Cyril Woodward did something to you and whatever he did, damaged your soul. The doughnut you were given is monster food. It restored your soul."

"Who is Cyril Woodward?"

Oh no. "The man who gave you a treatment in his Full Health Machine."

She shook her head.

I sighed and was struck by another idea. "Mrs. Wakefield. Mrs. Wakefield might know." I turned to Asriel. "Az? Would you be willing to help Mrs. Hannon get her bearings and get her home?"

Asriel nodded. "Of course."

I took Mrs. Hannon's hand. "My Imperial Sister will stay and help you, Your Honor. I'm sorry that the circumstances do not permit me to stay with you."

She looked grateful in a way that spoke volumes to her character and she hugged me fiercely. "Thank you."

I drew back and turned to Sans. "We need to go to 418 Mallard Street."

He winked at me. "*you've got it, kiddo."

He held out a hand and we grabbed his arm. When color came back to the world, we stood outside a familiar, little, white cottage. Morning light was finally moving into the horizon, turning the world a soft orange. Chara and I ran up to the cottage's bright red door, Stephen close behind. I knocked loudly.

"Mrs. Wakefield! Dr. Wakefield! We need help!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming! And just when I put the water on..." Mrs. Wakefield opened the door, still in her kerchief and bright blue dressing gown. "Boys!" she gasped. "You look a fright!" She hugged us both before holding us at arms length. "What do you need?"

"Do you know where Mrs. Hannon went when she saw Cyril Woodward?"

"That charlatan? Yes. He gave her the treatment at his office in the Carnegie Building. Room 358."

"Sally dearest? Who's at the door?"

"The twins, John. They're looking for Cyril Woodward."

"That quack?" Dr. Wakefield came to the door, still in his crimson velvet dressing gown. "Why ever would you want to see him?"

"We don't." Chara smiled, and it wasn't happy. "But he's missing a date with Undyne."

Dr. and Mrs. Wakefield looked at each other for a moment.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Dr. Wakefield looked over our heads to Sans. "Sans? You are not to let the boys go any further without a member of the imperial guard with them."

"*you got it, doc." He held out his hand to us. "*we'll make a quick stop at the palace before we go to the carnegie building."

"Be safe!" Mrs. Wakefield called as the world swirled black around us.

When the world pieced itself together, we were in the plaza in front of the palace. I took a step and stumbled, falling into Stephen, my stomach growling loudly.

Stephen helped me get my feet back under me. "I called it."

I snorted and walked with him to the grand entrance of the palace, the scaffolding that had covered it yesterday now moved away.

The guard sniffed at us and stepped in front of the door to block us. "I do not know how riff raff got past the front gate, but you are not welcome inside the palace. Leave."

I sighed, turning to ask Sans to simply take us inside. And some long threading rope of patience inside me snapped. "No! No! I have had it with this attitude! The last time I put up with it, it nearly got my brother killed and my family exiled. Step aside or I'll show you how well Undyne's trained me to mop the floor with insignificant little fripoons like you!"

He growled loudly and came at me with his halberd. I stepped to the side, grabbing the halberd from his hands, and spinning to put the blunt end in his back. He hit the colored tile of the plaza with a loud smack. I stepped back, spinning the spear around myself as he got to his feet. He pulled a sword and I swung short at his head. He dodged back, bringing up his sword to block my come around.

I brought the halberd down, looking to slam his leg, only to have him jump forward. I caught the sword against the shaft of the halberd and held him there for a moment, letting him think he had the upper hand. My gambit worked and he got cocky, backing off to raise the sword over his head and bring it down on mine. I spun the halberd, leaping to the side to spear at his face. He stumbled mid step and scrambled to keep his feet as he dodged. He swung his sword up, leading with his head. I spun and slammed the blunt end of the halberd into his cheek, throwing him backward across the plaza.

"You call yourself a member of the Imperial Guard? Your job is to protect me and you can't even hold a candle to me in a fight. What a laugh."

Members of the guard stationed around the plaza rushed in, and froze, unsure what to do.

Sir Romik pushed the crowd aside. "What's going on here?" He bowed when he saw Chara and I, and held out his hand for the halberd. I tossed it to him and he caught it with ease. With a quick spin of the shaft, he hooked the vaguely conscious guardsman by the back of the collar and hefted him over his shoulder, leaving the man to hang uselessly in the air by his clothing. He looked around at the rest of the guard. "Well don't just stand there! Their Imperial Highnesses and Lord Plant have returned to the palace. Get yourselves in order!"

The guard members made a line and bowed in unison.

Chara put his arm around me. "Feel better?"

Surprisingly, I felt better than I had in a very long time. I nodded.

He poked my cheek with a finger. "Your eyes are as red as mine right now."

I sighed. "Breakfast please."

Chara steered me back to the door and into the palace. We headed to the guards' office to find Emma setting up a breakfast for three on the desk of Lord Ghelfi, the man who'd replaced Hunt. He was easily as tall as Hunt had been corpulent, and bore the marks of the hereditary aristocracy: pale blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and olive toned skin. Chara liked him immediately, which said a lot.

"The boys aren't even here, Emma! They're at the Shipworks this week. And if they were, why would they have breakfast in here and not in their rooms or their study?"

We stepped into the office.

He looked at Emma, just a bit afraid. "Are you a witch?"

"No. Good morning, boys."

"Morning, Emma. Good morning, Lord Ghelfi," Chara said as he poured a cup of tea and handed it to me.

I gulped it quickly. "Anything else we should know about today, Emma?"

"Take Wilson and Miss Alice Luxon with you when you leave. They will be here soon." She paused for a moment, head cocked to the side. "And you should remove Lady Rood's name from the guard roster. Though I'm not sure why."

Sir Almon looked up from the desk he was working at. "That would be because her proper title is now Her Majesty."

Stephen's eyebrows raised. "News travels fast."

Sir Almon nodded. "Every fae in St. Canard has received the news. I've already pulled her roster paperwork for Captain Undyne."

Lord Ghelfi looked between us. "Did she marry one of the Fae Lords?"

Chara shook his head. "She inadvertently completed a task that earned her a Fae title."

"Huh." He looked proud. "Well done!"

Emma smiled as she handed me a plate of food. "Eat please. Wilson and Miss Luxon are almost here."

I nodded and worked on the eggs and toast.

Wilson came in the office, Miss Luxon and Duke Riley on his heels. "I don't care who he's related too, Riley! He attacked a member of the imperial family, and he's lucky I'm not tying him up and dropping him in the river!"

"Why not drop him in the river?" Miss Luxon asked.

"Because it's too good for him!" Wilson looked over us and the breakfast spread out on Lord Ghelfi's desk, before turning to me. "Are you all right?"

I nodded.

"Good, because when they told me you were the one in the fight, I was worried that you'd go easy on that son of an ass." He snorted and adjusted his uniform. "Where is your sister?"

"Downtown precinct," Chara answered.

"Lady Anna?"

"House of Nuada with Ceph and Mary."

Wilson nodded. "Where are we heading?"

"358 Carnegie Building."

"Will you help us, Sans?"

He winked at Wilson over his tea cup of orange marmalade. "*of course."

I handed Emma my plate and stood. "Thank you."

She smiled. "I have your weapons of choice in the wardrobe." She pointed behind me.

I smiled and pulled open the cherry wood wardrobe to reveal Chara's favorite sword, my ray guns, and Stephen's preferred rifle. "Thank you, Emma!"

Armed and ready, Sans took us on a short cut to outside the Carnegie Building. It was a seven story brick building that did little more than resemble a dull red, upright rectangle. We circled it once and saw no lights on from the outer windows. Miss Luxon picked the lock on the emergency door and pulled the wires on the alarm before it could ring. She motioned Wilson in and we followed him through hallways of dark brown moulding on yellow walls with awful, orange carpeting displaying a pattern that would make you dizzy if you looked at it too long. The stair wells were cold, dark concrete, unworthy of even being painted. We climbed to the third floor and Miss Luxon listened at the door to office 358.

She waved us back and touched the door knob. The door opened, completely unlocked. A man jumped at her, wild eyed and howling. She went to the floor, ducking his jump, and shoved a spider doughnut in his mouth. We all dodged to the side and he landed with a crash into the wall. While Sans cared for the man, the rest of us went inside the office. After making sure, no one else waited for us, we dug around in the desk and filing cabinets.

I pulled file after file stuffed to the max with paper out of the desk. All of it was blank. "What the...?"

Chara dug through the filing cabinet behind me. "There's a lot of paper in here with absolutely nothing on it."

"Same here," Wilson added from the cabinet he dug through.

I huffed and looked around the room. "There isn't enough room in this office for the Full Health Machine's chair with the desk. So he had to be taking his victims somewhere else. But where?"

Miss Luxon picked up the papers I had in front of me and put them to her nose, flipping through them. She handed me one. "This one smells of lemon." She pulled out a small, chrome plated lighter and carefully waved it's flame behind the paper. The lemon juice on the paper browned, revealing a very neat, but also very old fashioned script. "Lemon juice is an old trick for hiding writing, but still effective."

"What would you have used?" Wilson asked.

She shrugged. "I would have dismantled one of Professor Weinberg's highlighter pens, extracted the ink, diluted it with water, and used the resulting liquid. It's odorless and only reveals itself under a dark light."

Stephen blinked at her. "Who are you?"

"In the interest of national security, I am not to divulge that information. If it makes you feel better, their Imperial Majesties know who I am and where I come from."

Chara looked at her sharply, before looking away angrily. I frowned, feeling disconnected. It wasn't like Chara to hide anything from me.

I read the paper out loud, just to distract myself from my worry. "New procedure works well on monsters and humans. Fae unaffected, but the original procedure still works well on them. Still gaining renewed vitality from human life force. Seems unlimited in scope. Gained regenerative healing ability from fae life force. Gained monster like magical abilities from monster life force. These powers are short lived."

Wilson frowned. "That's a lot of terrifying in a few short sentences. Anything else?"

I shook my head. "Let's look for more."

We found two more papers in the desk files with the lemon smell. One turned out to be a test paper for the lemon as invisible ink. The second was more telling.

"All patients undergoing the procedure appear to be loosened of false civilized restraints. Monsters act more like monsters and not like the polite beings they pretend to be. Humans give up their distorted need for others and act on true instinct. Fae become more like the fairies of legend, unrestrained by their oaths. Personalities across all patient types fall away, revealing their true selves. This is an extraordinary achievement! The fair will allow me to release more souls and gain more vitality for myself."

I put the paper down. "This just keeps getting worse and we still have no idea where to look." I went into the hallway and knelt next to the man Sans was keeping an eye on. "Do you remember anything about what happened to you?"

He squinted at me. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"My name's Frisk. I don't believe we've met, but you may have seen a photo of me or my twin brother before. Please. I need to know if you remember anything. What's your name?"

"Fritz Cooper. Where am I?"

"The Carnegie Building."

The man looked around, blinking. "I work here. In the first floor offices. My employer loans out spaces in the building."

I let out a held breath with a smile. "I need to see the lease record for room 358!"

"Yes. Of course."

I helped the man to his feet and we hurried down the stairs to the records office.

The man dug through a filing drawer dedicated to the third floor and pulled out the lease for office 358. "Office 358 was rented to a George Watton Baxter." He handed me the file. "It looks like he paid the rent six months in advance by bank check. The bank check has his name on it and lists his home address as 1030 Maple Lane."

Wilson took the voided check copy from the file and looked at it. "Maple Lane? That's the industrial district. There aren't any residences there."

"But it's still two more leads then we had before."

The man's jaw dropped. "You're Frisk Dreemurr! The Grand Prince! Oh My God! I am so sorry, Sir!" He bowed quickly.

"Don't apologize. You've helped us a great deal. We're going to take you to mid town police precinct so you can give a statement about what you remember. It's okay if you don't remember much. Everyone else who was in the condition we found you, doesn't seem to know what's going on." I looked at Chara. "I need the rest of our band of merry men."

Stephen sighed. "Is that what we are now?"

Chara smirked. "Hey, we used to be a two man act before the rest of you hangers on showed up."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, just remember that if Az hadn't shown up when she did, you'd be dead right now."

Chara huffed. "Keep rubbing it in. See where that gets you."

I gave him a mock glare. "Miss Luxon, please take Mr. Cooper to the mid town precinct. Wilson, please retrieve my sister from the down town precinct. The rest of us will head to the House of Nuada to get Anne, Ceph, and Mary if she's recovered. We'll meet at City Hall."

Wilson pointed at me. "Do not attempt to rush off without Miss Luxon or I, understood?"

I saluted him. "Yes, Sir!"

Sans held out his arm for the short cut. When the world rearranged itself, we stood outside the House of Nuada.

The guard at the door bowed his head to us as he allowed us through. "Her Majesty and her companions are in the Great Hall."

We nodded and walked into the long hallway, now lit with the cool light of morning, that led to the great hall. We opened the door to the hall. Inside, the fire roared just as brightly as it had the night before. In the dancing firelight, Mary stood in a layered, lace dress of pale green and white, in the style of the fae noblewomen. The jewel of her damehood was pinned over her breast. Several fae children whom I recognized at the Lord's daughters, surrounded her, each clamoring for her attention. She danced with them, spinning this way and that. Anne and Cephas stood with the Lord of House Nuada, watching with bright smiles.

Mary caught sight of us first and knelt among the children. "I must go now, little ones."

Several disappointed ahs were followed by hugs before Mary hurried over to us.

Stephen took her hands in his. Her arms bare, you could see the flowers covered her, moving under the surface of her skin like it was water and moving as if a soft breeze moved through them. "How are you feeling?"

Her smile fell. "Overwhelmed."

Chara put an arm around her shoulders. "You'll get used to it eventually like Frisk. ...Or you learn to avoid it like me. Want to think about something else for a bit?"

The relief on her face was evident. "Yes." She turned to the Lord of House Nuada and the trembling returned. "Thank you for allowing me to stay in my hour of need."

He stepped toward her. "When I named you my family, I made this hall your home. You have no need to thank me when you make use of your rooms."

Mary appeared so honestly stunned that she didn't know what to say. Anne stepped in with the save. "Thank you for allowing Cephas and I to stay with Mary, while she recovered."

He nodded. "You have each done a great service for my people and that is something we will never forget. The Dreemurrs and any persons they name their friends are always welcome in the House of Nuada."

We bowed to him as he bowed to us. I offered my arm to Anne and led us out of the hall.

Stephen pulled Mary along with him, gently holding her hand while her arm rested above his in the fae style. "You look beautiful."

Mary looked down at her feet, troubled.

"Chou?"

"I thought that when I was given the suite it wasn't something I was ever supposed to use."

"Really?"

"I'm not fae and I'm not a noble, so I thought it was polite gesture, something done as part of a favor owed, and not something to be taken seriously. Even on the evenings I would be in the hall late into the night for a function of the Knights of the Oak, I would always stay at the Autumn Estate."

Chara pinched her arm. "We're thinking about something else, remember?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Where are we going?"

"City Hall. Have the three of you had breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Good. Sans, you're up."

Sans held out a hand. "*you kids have me going every where today."

"We'll make it up to you," I said as I placed my hand on his arm. "How does a year supply of orange marmalade sound?"

"*like music to my ear holes." He had us in front of City Hall in a jiffy. Inside the entrance lobby, Asriel waited with Wilson and Miss Luxon.

Asriel rushed to hug Mary. "How do you feel? Are you all right?"

"I'm well."

Az held her at length, examining her arms then her clothes. "The flowers look like they truly live just below your skin. I think they might be moving." Mary cringed a little and Asriel gave her a patient smile. "This dress suits you. You look lovely."

"Thank you." Mary grinned sheepishly. "The daughters of the Lord insisted I wear it."

"You mean your sisters."

Mary suddenly looked lost again.

Az frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Long story," Chara said. "We'll fill you in later and then Anne and Ceph can fill us in on what being the Flower of Nathirna means for Mary."

"Let's move on to the plan. Anne, Cephas, and Mary. I need you three to look up George Watton Baxter here at City Hall. Az, Stephen, and Sans, I need you to look up George Watton Baxter at his bank." I handed Asriel the voided check. "The rest of us will check out 1030 Maple Lane." I pulled out my map of St. Canard and looked at it for a moment, locating a convenient restaurant. "We'll meet at The Summer Room to discuss what we've found."

We all nodded and broke into our respective groups.

Mr. Johnson waited outside with the carriage. "Where to today, Sirs?"

"1030 Maple Lane," I said.

"Yet another new one," he commented as he guided the carriage into the morning traffic and to the industrial district. I sighed when I saw 1030 Maple Lane. It was a dilapidated warehouse among several bustling ones. Half the roof had fallen in on the north side and nature was slowly reclaiming it. Miss Luxon stepped down from the carriage and stalked up to the building. She peered in a window and swiftly turned aside so as not to be seen by whoever was inside.

Wilson, Chara, and I leapt down from the carriage rushing to the building, avoiding the direct line of sight from the windows. Chara looked around for a moment and noticed a stack of crates to the broken roof. He swiftly and quietly climbed them to look down inside the building. The look of shock and then fury let me know that whatever was going on inside was not going to slide on his watch. I chanced a brief look and stiffened.

'Woodward,' or who ever he was, had several people strapped down to multiple Full Heath Machines. All of them fought their bindings, wild eyed while he used the machines on them continuously. He looked older than he had yesterday by ten years at least. He was using the life force of others to maintain his youth.

I counted the captives. Eight. Two lines of four. They struggled but seemed unable to get loose.

Chara climbed down and ran over to us. "Frisk, you and Miss Luxon will head around to the back entrance. Wilson and I will take the front. Wilson and I will distract him so the two of you can take him by surprise."

"If he proves to be too difficult or puts either Grand Prince in jeopardy, end him, Miss Luxon."

She nodded once. I ran to the far end of the building, Miss Luxon on my heels. We quietly tested the door and found it would open easily. We waited for Chara and Wilson entered from the front.

Chara kicked the door open and strode in, his sword on his shoulder. Woodward froze, stunned as my brother came to a halt between the two rows and pointed his sword at him. "In the name of His Imperial Majesty, you are under arrest."

Miss Luxon and I slipped inside and surrounded Woodward from the back and left while Wilson came around the right.

"No! I will not give up my youth!" He slammed his fist down on device held in his hands and the electrical arc around the Full Health Machines disappeared. The restraints opened, freeing the mad captives. They clambered out of the chairs.

"STAR BLAZING!"

Chara leapt forward, rolling out of Asriel's attack area. All eight of the affected fell to the ground unconscious.

Woodward gasped and made to run. A shot fired and a bullet caught him in the leg. The wound closed almost as soon as it opened. I turned my head for a moment to see Stephen standing next to Asriel at the front door. Sans leaned against the wall behind them, hands in the pockets of his pants, and seemed to be snoozing.

My momentary distraction gave Woodward his chance, he leapt at me, tackling me in a roll. I put my arms up, grasping the lapels of his jacket, and preventing his attempt at a choke hold. I pulled the knife hidden in my jacket and shoved it in his stomach. He backed away from me, pulling the knife out with a scream of pain. The wound closed but he aged another ten years as it healed.

Miss Luxon grabbed Woodward by the hair and slammed him into the ground. She pulled a taser from her belt and knocked Woodward out with a heavy shock. She looked at me. "Are you all right, Sir?"

I nodded and Miss Luxon turned to binding Woodward.

Asriel hugged me tightly. Singer crawled down from where it hid in Asriel's hat and jumped onto my shirt, mending tears from the struggle. "I'm sorry we weren't here sooner."

"Why did you come?"

"*undyne found us and said she had reports of eight missing people from the industrial district," Sans answered.

Stephen shouldered his rifle. "We also have some news. Mary and Ceph found a death certificate for George Watton Baxter and nothing else. No birth certificate, no family tree, no records of business. Nothing. But Anne found a record for 1030 Maple Lane. This building is owned by C. W. Baxter. Cyril Woodward Baxter."

Asriel helped me stand. "At the bank we found the rest of the records that should have been at City Hall stuffed in the Baxter family bank box. That man is Cyril. George was his son and his cause of death is listed as extreme electrical shock. I'm betting he died testing an early prototype of the Full Health Machine."

I looked at Cyril's unconscious and now aging body. "Do you think his son's death made him young?"

"It's very likely," Asriel said. "George Watton Baxter died eighty years ago."

I looked over the unconscious men and women who laid on the warehouse floor. "Sans? Would you please let Undyne know what's going on? We need to take care of the victims."

Sans stopped pretending to be asleep to wink at me, and disappeared.

"Woodward has stopped breathing," Miss Luxon said.

We all turned and watched as his skin stretched tighter and tighter over his bones, drying out and cracking until all that was left was a pile of desiccated corpse parts. I sighed and sat down.

"You all right, Frisk?"

I looked at Chara. "Ready for lunch." My shoulders dropped. "And a nap."

My brother came over and sat next to me. "I hear ya. I believe you said we were meeting at The Summer Room, and I could definitely go for one of their campfire chicken plates."

"That does sound good."

It wasn't long until Undyne appeared with several people from the industrial district precinct. After filling her in on what we found, she waved us off to lunch. At the Summer Room, we found Mary, Anne, and Cephas waiting for us. We sat down to lunch except Miss Luxon, who stood dutifully at the door even as Wilson sat.

Chara looked at the empty chair next to him and huffed. He stood, pulling it out. "Sit, Miss Luxon."

"Sir?"

"We're safe here. Sit and eat."

She sat as Chara pushed the chair in and sat down again.

I opened my mouth to ask Chara what was up, but the look of sorrowful shame on Miss Luxon's face gave me paused. I turned to Mary. "What was the riddle?"

Mary wiped her mouth daintily. "On your way to St. Ives, you saw a man with 7 wives. Each wife had 7 sacks. Each sack had 7 cats. Each cat had 7 kittens. Kitten, cats, sacks, wives. How many were going to St. Ives?"

Chara laughed. "Well done, Mary!"

She sighed. "I'm happy that we were able to save the fae damaged by that damnable contraption, but..." She touched the flowers on the side of her face. "I'm not sure how I feel about this."

"If you had known before hand, would you still have gone through with the ritual?" Stephen asked.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

He smiled, proud.

Lunch passed pleasantly and we bid the girls farewell before heading back to the Shipworks. Cephas and Stephen went to the room we shared to nap while Chara and I sat down to clean our goggles in preparation for another afternoon in the _Curio_.

"Chara?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay with me purposing to Anne?"

Chara looked at me with a curious expression. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, we've never really had anyone come between us before."

Chara raised an eyebrow. "And Az doesn't count?"

"I hadn't thought about that."

He smiled. "Anne looks at you the way Sans looks at a jar orange marmalade. And anyone who loves my brother that much is always welcome in my life." He set his goggles down and hugged me. "I'm honestly looking forward to calling her my sister in law."

I smiled and hugged him back. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I don't know. But thank you."

The bell rang as the door hit it and we looked up to see Miss Luxon come in. She stopped in front of us and bowed, hand over her heart in the old way. Chara went back to cleaning his goggles, refusing to look at her.

I acknowledged her with a bow of the head. "Are we needed back at the palace?"

She shook her head. "No, Sir. I'm here to speak with Sans."

I pointed to the mezzanine. "He's in his office. You can take the lift or the stairs."

"Thank you." She headed up the stairs.

As soon as she was in the office doorway, I rushed up the stairs on my toes to cover the sound of my footfall and leaned against the wall to listen.

"*any particular reason why you've been muddying my employer's roof, alice?"

"The _Curio_. I wanted to see if you had the original ship or the copy Heinrich Dresler attempted."

"*does it matter?"

"You know damn well that it does!" She dropped into the chair opposite Sans. "The original _Curio_ was created by Edmund Bromer." She sighed. "He's the twins' father."

Edmund Bromer is our father? That can't be right. He'd married shortly before his death, but had no children. His wife, whoever she had been, had disappeared from history. I leaned in closer, being sure to keep completely out of sight.

"If you have the real one, people will come for it. More importantly, they will come for the twins." She sighed and it sounded pained. "Someone has put two and two together, Sans. Someone has figured out that Bromer had children and that they inherited his brilliance. So which is it? Is it the original sitting down there or the copy?"

"*how do we tell?"

"The engine. Bromer's design was a perfected cyclone chamber. Dresler couldn't reproduce it. He used a crystal matrix, but it lacked the power to make the copy a truly amphibious ship."

"*we have the original."

Alice's head dropped into her hands. "Don't let them dig too far into the _Curio's_ past."

"*and why not? the more they know the more they can prepare. or are you simply trying to protect yourself?"

"The Deutsches Reich wanted Bromer's discoveries. I was the spy they sent to report on his work and I took a job as a maid in his house." Some long fought pain entered her voice. "He fell in love with me and I married him."

She inhaled deeply. "When the _Curio_ was completed, I was ordered to steal it and I did. Edmund died attempting to get it back, never knowing that his wife was the one who'd betrayed him."

"*and the boys?"

"I learned of my pregnancy after Edmund's death. I'd destroyed the only man who ever loved me, but I wasn't evil enough or cowardly enough to destroy his children in the womb. I'd hoped by giving them life, I was honoring a love I did not deserve. And by abandoning them, I was hoping to forget."

Her eyes closed and she shuddered.

"And I never have."

She inhaled deeply. "Running into you in Egypt was the worst day of my life. I'd unknowingly endangered my sons over worthless trinkets. Worse still was realizing that they were the twins that truly important people all over the world are watching. Their youth and having such rabidly loyal people around them has served to keep them safe from those who wish to use their minds like they wished to use their father's. But now?" She shook her head. "Danger lurks in every corner and it's all I've been able to do to keep up."

*are they really that much like their father?"

Alice reached underneath her dark blue guard uniform and pulled out a silver locket. She opened it and handed it to Sans.

"*well what do you know? they both look like him." He handed back the locket and she stared at the photo inside for a moment.

"They both have their father's unrivaled brilliance. But Frisk has all his gentleness, all of his kindness. While Chara has his loyalty and self-sacrificing spirit. And what did they gain from me? Nothing. Nothing but minds that can turn as red as their eyes." She snapped the locket shut, and hid it away.

"*oh i wouldn't say that's all they gained. from everything i've ever heard of edmund bromer, he enjoyed a puzzle, but the kind of mysteries that frisk solves? i'm betting he gets that from you. and unless you can say otherwise, edmund bromer was no polyglot, but chara masters a language easily. something i'm sure he picked up from you." Sans looked toward the doorway with a wink. "though if those examples aren't the case, they certainly gained your talent for sneaking around."

"Maybe." Her chair scraped against the floor as she stood. "They don't need to know that I live or that I'm so close at hand. If it is all I can manage to do for the rest of my life, I will protect them from those who would look to steal their freedom for their brilliance. They will one day surpass their father and I will make sure that day comes, even if I don't live to see it."

"*goodbye, alice."

"Goodbye, Sans."

I rushed away from the door, sliding down the emergency fire pole and heading over to Chara. Alice Luxon descended the stairs and paused briefly to bow to us, hand over her heart in the old style. Or maybe her hand was over the hidden locket? We bowed our heads to her in acknowledgement and she disappeared out the hangar door.

"That's our mother."

Chara frowned, continuing to clean his googles. "I know."

I looked at him sharply. "You know?"

He set his goggles down and looked up at me. "Remember when the Vampire Illuminati used three humans to steal the Eye of Horus and the Diadem of Isis? She was one of the three. You went to sleep, but I only pretended to sleep while she talked with Sans."

"That was four years ago!" I hissed. "When were you going to tell me?"

Chara looked away, honestly sad. "I don't know. I wasn't trying to hide it from you, to 'protect' you in some way. I just couldn't figure out what to say."

I sat next to him and put my arm around him, leaning my head against his. "Well, I learned something you don't know from my little eavesdropping session."

"What's that?"

I leaned back, knocking on the _Curio's_ haul. "We know that Edmund Bromer made the ship. He's also our father."

Chara blinked at me, eyes lighting up, a smile tugging his lips. "No way."

I nodded, smiling.

xxx

Thank you for joining us, Ladies and Gentlemen! Join us next week as the Grand Duchess, her Imperial Highness, Asriel Dreemurr takes the reigns in Mistletoe and Mummies!


	6. Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. This episode is so big, it has four parts.
> 
> 2\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep. 5 - Mistletoe and Mummies Part 1

Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! In tonight's episode, Christmas is fast approaching as Asriel, our narrator, is alerted to a strange occurrence in the museum by Fuku Fire.

xxx

I yawned as I stood, careful not to jostle the bed and wake my lovely companions. Anne and Mary were snuggled together, having crawled in with me for warmth during a very cold night. There are benefits to being covered in fur! The girls were curled so that their heads touched, holding hands.

A soft knock at the door was followed by Amy, Emma's oldest daughter and my new chambermaid, coming in with breakfast. She quietly rolled the gilded, two shelf cart to my little table to lay out a breakfast of warm, cinnamon oatmeal, dried fruits, muffins, and hot tea. In a basket on the top shelf of the cart was a basket of letters. I sighed and went through them. Each one was addressed to Mary. Another round of marriage proposals, no doubt. The smell of breakfast woke my friends from their long, as of today, winter's nap. I poured them cups of tea as Mary helped Anne into a robe before pulling on one of her own.

"What smells delicious?" Anne asked.

Amy pulled out a chair for Anne. "Oatmeal with cinnamon and fruited muffins fresh from the oven, Lady Anna."

Mary sat down next to Anne. "How's the Christmas party skit coming?"

Anne hid a yawn behind her hand. "Frisk and I finished writing it last night. We'll be practicing whenever we can put in the time."

"You're cutting it rather close," I commented, smiling into my tea. "The party is only two days away."

"I know, but you and Chara did your host of the ball skit on just as little time last year. Besides, it's short. Frisk was worried that it might be too risque, but I think it'll be just fine." Anne sipped her tea.

A knock at the door drew Mary to it. "Who is it?"

"Ceph and I," Stephen called.

Mary smiled brightly and opened the door. "Come in!" She took Stephen's hand in hers and pulled him toward the table. "We're just starting breakfast."

The boys, already dressed for the day, followed her into the room. Cephas took the cup of tea Amy offered him. "Thank you, Amy. Does anyone know where Frisk and Chara went? It isn't a Shipworks day and Undyne is down in the imperial guards' office, so they aren't off somewhere with her."

"They've likely gone into town to finish their Christmas shopping and pick up orders," I answered.

Mary lifted the basket. "Are all these for me?"

Stephen frowned. "More proposals?"

Anne sighed. "Very likely. At least five a week since the coronation." She looked at Stephen pointedly.

He rolled his eyes at her and turned so as to be out of Mary's view. He opened his suit coat just enough for Anne and I to see the edge of a ring box, before making it look like he was adjusting his sleeves. "Any you're thinking about?"

Mary frowned, suddenly crestfallen. "I guess I can't keep turning them down forever." She lifted an envelope and looked at the emblem of the royal house of Spain. She dropped it back into the basket. "I am not leaving the Empire." She dropped into her chair and gulped down her tea in one smooth movement.

Stephen looked to me, pleading.

I smiled patiently. "Let's wait on answering these until tomorrow. Today is a busy day and we have a very busy evening ahead." I pulled one of the letters. "This one is from your Lady Mother." Mary perked up a little and opened the letter.

"What does it say?" Anne asked.

"It's an invitation to a ladies tea. She invites me to everything and anything." She set the invitation down. "I will respond to this one today."

"Will you go?"

Mary shook her head. "These are fae only events. The invitations are simply to be polite. I'm not meant to accept them."

Anne looked at me for a moment with a frown. "Are you sure about that?"

Mary nodded. "The only invitations I'm meant to accept are the ones that ask me to help prepare for an event or complete a project. So I accept those. I'm always happy to help."

I looked to Cephas and Stephen. "Unless the two of you have something else to do this morning, I would be delighted to have your assistance."

Stephen looked at me suspiciously. "Why do I have the feeling that the three of you get up to just as much trouble as Frisk and Chara?"

"Because you're intelligent," Anne said. She speared a dried apricot with her fork and ate it with a smile.

"What are we in for?" Cephas asked.

"Not much. Just helping me arrange my parents' Christmas present."

Ceph nearly jumped with excitement. "The Ancient Egypt Exhibit? I'd love to help with that!"

"You did enjoy that adventure in Cairo," Stephen commented.

Ceph nodded emphatically.

Elarine, Mary's new lady in waiting from House Lir, stepped into the room with a curtsy. Like all members of House Lir, she was a type of merfolk. Her skin was a fantastically lovely, deep, dark blue, like she'd been carved from the very depths of the ocean itself. What appeared to be long, white hair, but was actually a mass of long, clear tendrils filled with a bio-luminescent substance, cascading down her back. She wore a dress reminiscent of ocean waves crashing on the shore with the white flower emblem of Nathirna pinned to her shoulder. "Your Majesty? Your dress for the Winter Solstice Festival this evening has arrived. The seamstress would like to be sure it fits properly."

Mary wiped her mouth as she nodded. "Thank you, Elarine." She stood and left the room.

Anne was on Stephen in an instant. "Show me!"

"All right! All right! Calm down!" Stephen pushed his red hair out of his face and pulled out the box. The ring inside was a gold and emerald work of art accented with diamonds. I could tell by the softly carved hearts on the band that Mimi had been the one to create the ring.

Anne gasped. "Oh! And green is her favorite color!"

Stephen nodded, smiling a little.

"No flower design?" Cephas asked.

Stephen shook his head. "I wanted her to know that I wasn't asking because of her title, so I chose the hearts simply to show I love her."

Anne cooed and he elbowed her gently with false annoyance.

"Have you spoken to the Lord of House Nuada?" I asked.

Stephen nodded. "He gave his blessing and was happy that I asked. He's been rather put out that so many have asked for Mary's hand without speaking to him. I'm proposing at the festival tonight."

Anne pressed her hands to her face happily before hugging Stephen tightly. My cuckoo clock chimed the hour and the little wooden shepherd with his little wooden sheep spun slowly out of the doors of their little wooden house.

Anne helped Amy move the breakfast plates to the cart before heading for the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Asriel."

I shooed her off to get dressed. "I'll meet you next door."

Stephen took her seat at the table and leaned in. "How are things going with Frisk?"

"Good. He's picking up the ring today and proposing at the Christmas party during the skit. So far, Anne doesn't appear to know what's up."

"Do you need Ceph and I to help you with Duke Koll?"

I shook my head. "The Duchess and I have the situation well in hand. Chara's already volunteered to keep the Duke from interrupting the big moment." I stood. "If you would be so kind as to give me a few moments, I need to dress. I'll meet you in the museum's Barnes Gallery."

They nodded and headed out the door, Cephas pulling it shut behind him. As I dressed, I counted off my to do list: get the exhibit in order, lunch with my beloved Chara, double check that all of the gifts I've purchased were wrapped and ready, take Toby for his daily walk, make sure the rooms for our guests this Christmas where in order, wash and dress for the Solstice Festival.

I turned in the mirror, checking to be sure my dress would not be in my way while I worked on the exhibit. It was purple, as always, with a lovely floral brocade layered over the body of the dress. As Amy pinned my hair in place, Singer, my little mechanical sewing spider, ran up my arm to the bun were it nestled. I thanked Amy before heading out the door and down the hall. Though the Autumn Estate is both comfortable and well appointed, I was happy to be back in my home. The repairs were finished swiftly and with great attention to detail. Only the most diligent effort on the part of the observer would reveal where the damage to the palace had occurred.

I stopped at the door to the room Anne and Mary had chosen to share after returning to the palace to give it a sharp knock. The door opened and Anne, dressed in a heavy brown skirt and white blouse, stood ready for a morning in the museum. She motioned for me to come in. Mary stood in front of the mirror in a formal gown crafted from a rich emerald green velvet. The shoulders and neckline were dropped in the current style, all the better to show off the flowers forever painted into her skin. Embroidered flowers in silver and white thread caressed the bodice, flowed down the skirt, and ended in a mass on the train.

She turned her head to me as the seamstress adjusted the hem. "What do you think?"

"You look exquisite."

She glared at me and I gave her my brightest smile. Mary always hopes I'll complain about how much of her skin the formal dresses made for her show off, she was barking up the wrong tree. Her being the Flower during formal functions gave us all quite a few advantages, even if she didn't like all the attention.

The seamstress, one of the commoner fae with a truly elven countenance and golden, cat slit eyes, stood and looked over her work one last time. Nodding once, she smiled. "Perfect." She unbuttoned the back and helped Mary step out of the dress. "I'll steam the gown before I leave. I am attending the festivities tonight, so if you need adjustment or repair I will be at hand."

"Thank you."

Elarine handed Mary a long, light brown skirt with a lace edge which went under a dark brown dress, the hem of which only reached her knees. Over that went a long, blue-gray duster that buttoned at the waist. Mary affixed the pin of the Knights of the Oak and the emblem of the Flower to her shoulder. We turned to leave for the museum.

"Oh no you don't!" Elarine called. Before Mary could escape out the door, Elarine placed a delicate, silver circlet of tiny, white flowers in her lady's hair. "There. Wearing the emblem is fine, but it is not a substitute for a true sign of your station."

Mary sighed. "I'm going to be working in the museum this morning, Elarine, not attending a function."

Elarine frowned, expression dark. "Your Lord Father would have a fit if his daughter were not outfitted as properly befits her station."

Mary held up both hands in sheepish surrender and Elarine backed off, letting her leave.

"Don't let her take off her circlet!" Elarine called as we headed down the hall.

As soon as we were out of ear shot, Mary groaned. "I swear! She makes it so hard to do my job."

I chuckled. "Well, you're job isn't to go unseen right now, so the circlet won't hurt."

Anne put an arm around her. "Come on, Your Majesty! Being royalty isn't all bad!"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Putting a commoner in a crown doesn't make them any less common. And it just makes me look silly."

Anne looked to me with an amused smile and guided us into the marble stairwell connecting the palace to the museum.

The museum had one official entrance and that was the one that faced the plaza. A secondary entrance from the marble stairwell was less appointed and often overlooked by museum patrons since it was visibly blocked by an exhibit. Visibly being the key word. The door opened and closed without impacting the free standing glass case filled with beautiful pieces of ancient pottery. We came in through this entrance and made our way to the Barnes Gallery just off the official entrance.

In the Barnes Gallery, the curator, a large owl monster named Jonas, already had Stephen and Cephas hard at work opening crates and carefully removing the contents. Both of the museum preservationists and their assistants were on hand to inspect the artifacts. Many needed cleaning, which was expected. Mary sat with the assistants and they had her checking the artifacts against the shipping documents as they cleaned. The contractor arrived and Anne was immediately on his arm. I liked to think myself a shrewd negotiator, and politically I could run rings around my opponents. But Anne had a special gift for negotiations that involved money.

Jonas caught sight of me. "Your Imperial Highness! Come with me!" His feathers fluffed up with excitement, making him appear almost twice his actual girth. "I am not sure how your Imperial Brothers did it, but they convinced the museum in Cairo to loan us two intact mummies." He led me back into the storage rooms behind the gallery. Two massive, temperature and moisture controlled, cases filled the available space in the storage room. Carefully curled, silver colored hoses and brass nobs for adjusting the cases' interior conditions covered the right hand side of the case. The mummy of a cat and the mummy of a full grown, adult man lay inside the cases.

"The documents list the man as Thutmose III, which I take to be complete poppycock. I've seen that mummy and there is no chance that they'd allow the body of one of their greatest rulers to ever leave Egypt. As it stands, we do not know who is in the case, so I will be listing them as an unknown on the plaque. I have asked the anthropology department at the St. Canard University to send a hieroglyphics expert over to see if they can tell who this is."

"Thank you so very much for putting this together, Jonas."

He smiled around his beak, feathers puffed out with pride. "Oh no, Mademoiselle. Thank you! Your holiday exhibits are always an exciting challenge and they make your parents so happy."

Fuku Fire, one of Jonas' many assistants poked her flaming, blue-green head in the door. "Jonas? Some people from the Uni are here to see you." She saw me and smiled brightly. "Morning, Azzy! Thanks for the extra help today! We are on schedule to open the full installation on Christmas Day. Oh and are people really excited about this one!

"Indeed! The charity auction for the early access tour with your parents brought the museum a ridiculous amount of money," Jonas added.

"So who gets to join my parents for their personal tour?"

Fuku smiled. "That's the kicker. Duke Melvin outbid everyone for all the tickets. And then gifted them to Sister Agnes' orphanage."

I looked back and forth between the two. "Really?"

Fuku nodded. "Remember back in September when someone had tried to sabotage the airship Lonely Legacy and the twins saved the day? The Duke's wife and children were on the ship. When the Duke asked how he could ever repay them, Frisk and Chara told him to do something for the St. Canard Orphanage. And this is only one of the the things he's done." She looked behind her and nodded to the people behind the door. "Yes. Yes. Just a moment. We're speaking with Her Imperial Highness. You can wait."

There was a rush of stomping as several, stereotypical academics crowded Fuku at the door.

"It is the Grand Princess! Hello, Mademoiselle!"

Fuku rolled her eyes. "I told you!"

"Well, it seems very unlikely that you would know the Grand Princess by an informal nickname," one of them commented.

"Fuku and I went to primary school together. We know each other very well," I informed.

Jonas chuckled at the appreciative looks Fuku suddenly received. "I should move along then." He bowed before heading toward the door.

I took a moment to look at the mummy in case. Though the skin had long turned to leather, it did look to be merely sleeping. I headed back into the Barnes gallery and let the preservation assistants put me to work. I smiled as my gift came together. My parent's could not leave the Empire for pleasure though they dearly wished too. It was the reason why they let my brothers travel the world. But if they could not see the world they'd so desperately longed for during the millennia trapped beneath the earth, then I would bring the world to them. History, culture, literature, science. I worked hard so they could see it all without needing to leave.

As lunch time rolled around, we'd managed to unpack all the crates and put all the amazing exhibit pieces in order for installation. After a few farewells, I headed on to my next appointment and one that I'd been desperately awaiting. My brothers and I had our secret places around the palace: hidden rooms in which we played as children and now met as adults to have time to ourselves. I walked down the hall into the north end of the palace and slipped into a guest room I kept permanently empty. Walking up to a large painting of the grandparents I never knew, I gently pulled it open like a door to reveal a hidden hallway. Carefully closing the painting behind me, I summoned a flame into my hand to light my way through the dark passage.

Several passages broke off of this one to various places in the north and east side of the palace, but I stayed on course, eventually going up a flight of narrow stairs, and coming to a small room painted a pale green. A comfortable couch, coffee table, and bookshelf filled with all sorts of diversions packed the room nicely. A singular window, frosted from the snowfall outside, flooded the room with light and a little warmth. The table was already set with large mugs of steaming, hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, sliced turkey with dressing and cranberry sauce sandwiches on the palace kitchen's hearty bread, sliced pickles, and a dessert of fruit dipped in chocolate.

Chara put his book down as I came in and lifted the quilt he sat under so we could share our warmth. He ran a finger along one of my horns when I cuddled up. "Your horns are growing out."

Singer crawled down my arm to repair old stitching in the quilt. "Are they? I hadn't noticed."

He nodded. "They look more and more like what I see in my dreams." He gave one long ear a gentle tug. "You're still male in them though."

I thought of the other Sans-es and the versions of ourselves that had occasion to visit. I wasn't sure I understood how it worked, but it never seemed to bother Chara or Frisk, so I refused to let it bother me. I knew though that these other existences resonated in my brothers and they often dreamed of themselves in other places, in other bodies, and with other versions of me. I picked up a mug of hot chocolate and sipped.

"Happy to have me to yourself for a bit?"

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. "Always. Is your shopping finished?"

He nodded. "All presents accounted for and wrapped."

"Including mine?"

Chara tugged on my ear. "Who said anything about a present for you?"

I set my mug down to turn on him with my sharp teeth bared. "Oh you better not have forgotten me!" I couldn't keep up the act with the amused smirk gracing his face and ended up laughing. He hugged me to his chest and I settled against him, his hand gently petting my hair. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That I can't give you more than this."

"If this is all we ever have, Asriel, then I am satisfied. It is more than I ever dreamed of for myself."

I looked up at him. "And what happens when someone turns your head?"

He booped my snout. "Do you honestly think that will ever happen?"

"You may one day want a family of your own."

"Speaking of that." He laid a beautifully wrapped, red and gold gift box on the table. "Here is the..." he sighed, "matter we discussed earlier."

I tapped the box with one claw. "And when should it be delivered?"

"When ever is convenient, but I would prefer to not be around."

I gave him my most patient of smiles. "So how long did it take Frisk to convince you?"

"He didn't. I suggested the gift to him."

I blinked at him, jaw falling open. "My dearest Chara, I do believe you have grown up."

He raised an eyebrow at me, arms crossed on his chest. "Don't get your hopes up, Az. I still don't know how I feel about the situation."

I looked at the box. "The reason mom and dad said nothing is the same reason you didn't say anything to Frisk. They didn't know what to say. Please tell me you'll forgive them this."

Chara leaned over, kissing my cheek. "There's nothing to be forgiven, Asriel. There are no right answers in this." He handed me the mug of hot chocolate and we snuggled together to watch the snow fall softly on the palace's interior garden.

"So what did you get me for Christmas?"

"The same thing I always get you, Az. Nothing."

I huffed, feigning annoyance, and we began our lunch in earnest. It was only as I was going over my present list later that I realized Chara was being truthful. He never 'got' me anything for Christmas. He always made my gift. I spent the entire walk with Toby thinking over the last few weeks and what projects I'd seen Chara working on. There were quite a few. As I went over the rooms list for our holiday guests and checked each room individually, I admitted defeat. Whatever Chara had made, he'd kept it secret enough that I had no idea what it might be.

I stared at my list and frowned over the potential disaster that it might entail. Lord and Lady Plant, Stephen's parents, and his siblings would be here... including his older brother. I put the entire family on the riverside of the palace. Cephas' father and mother would be here, but in separate rooms as per their divorce. For the sake of peace, I put his mother on the first floor plaza side near us and his father on the river side. And his father was bringing guests. Likely his new wife and their children. How distasteful.

After double checking the long list of nobles and dignitaries from various countries, my headache was full blown.

Last on the list was the Fae Lord of House Bile. He had been unable to attend Mary's coronation as his wife had given birth the same day. I was hoping against hope that the presence of such a powerful and somber Fae would keep the various guests on their best behavior. I'd placed him on the same floor as my brothers and I in the room next to the one Anne and Mary shared. It was the only open room on the floor. And, while I knew it meant Mary would nervously tremble the entire time he was here, I'd rather have that then multiple nobles attempt to claim the room as a point of prestige.

I headed into the palace kitchen to double check the food situation only to have Chiko, the rabbit monster who ran the kitchen, sit me down at the table and put an orange cake and a cup of tea in front of me.

"Honestly, Highness." She pulled my list from my hand. "How many years have we done this?"

I opened my mouth to answer.

"Too many!" she cried sharply.

I sighed and sipped the tea. "This is different. What is it?"

"Masala chai. It's a spiced milk tea from India. Do you like it?"

"Yes."

"Good, because it's on the menu for the season. I opened the holiday account and ordered a metric ton of ice cream treats from the Nice Cream Guy. We have an over abundance of children visiting for the holiday, so I've doubled the treat quantity you asked for and tripled the amount of wheat flour for breads. We'll be able to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at a moment's notice." She looked at the list. "We have extra quantities of everything on your list with the exception of wine."

I looked up sharply. "Impossible! There is absolutely no way the wine cellar is in such bad shape."

Chiko handed me the list. "It isn't. I just don't like serving our best to people I don't like. We have quite a few repeats this year that I'd rather show the door than have anywhere near my food."

"Chiko..."

"Mt. Ebott Winery has already supplied me with sixty cases of their renowned spice wine. I have ten cases of white ice wine, one hundred cases of champagne, twenty cases of Riesling, and forty cases of Bolgheri Rosso." She smiled devilishly. "Remember when your brothers went to the United States? They brought back a bottle of boilo for me from Pottsville in..." she snapped her fingers to jog her memory, "Pennsylvania. It's a mulled whiskey and the stuff is dynamite! I looked up the recipe and the test batch was as good as what the twins brought me so I made thirty jugs of the stuff."

She hopped over to the stove and ladled some into a mug. "You serve it hot." She handed the mug to me. "Careful now. It'll knock your knickers off."

I took a tiny sip and bristled at the sudden slam of spiced apple and hard liquor only to have it suddenly mellow out and feel warm in my belly. "Oh. That's... Wow."

Chiko pointed at the mug. "Exactly."

I looked at the liquid for a minute. "And the wassail?"

Chiko waved me off. "Done. I'll have it hot and ready on demand."

"And for the little ones?"

"A selection of cane sugar sodas, fruit juices, fruited water, milk, teas, and hot chocolate, regular and spiced. Lord knows I already keep enough for every child in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia just to keep Chara happy."

I chuckled.

She leaned in conspiratorially. "I've also heard that the orphanage is attending the tour of the Ancient Egypt exhibit with your imperial parents so I would like to have the banquet room attached to the museum for a cookie party. I'll have sugar cookies shaped like mummies, ankhs, and sphinxes for them to decorate with icing and candies."

I pulled out my notebook and looked over the room reservations. "The room in question is available. I'll be sure my brothers are on hand to help out."

Chiko rolled her eyes. "Oh please! We won't be able to keep them away! Please let Mary and Anne know."

I nodded. "Will do."

Chiko looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's that time!" She hopped around the kitchen lightning fast, putting together a tray of chocolate cookies, light nibbles, and tea with Frisk's favorite tea set. When she finished, her paw hit the bell on the table and Emma came in to collect the tray. She put another tray together just as fast with the strange little tea cups that resembled Dr. Alphys. They were, for some unknown reason, my father's favorite cups. I stopped Chiko before she hit the bell and stood.

"I'll take the tray up. Thank you for all your hard work, Chiko. You make managing this place so much easier."

The rabbit monster smiled with pride, both ears up. "It is a pleasure to serve you and the imperial family." She curtsied. "Let your parents know who will be joining them for the exhibit tour and the party. I'm sure they'll want to add to it."

I smiled as I lifted the tray. "No doubt!" I headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor on the west side of the palace. Balancing the tray in one arm, I knocked on the door of my parent's study. "Tea time!"

My father opened the door with a big smile and kiss on the top of my head. He was positively delighted to see me and took the tray as mom hugged me tightly.

"It feels like we haven't seen you in ages!"

"Oh please!" I rubbed noses with mom. "You just saw me yesterday! I'm not Frisk and Chara. We go weeks at a shot without seeing them."

Dad rubbed his nose against mine. "You're always so busy with managing the palace, it's a wonder we see you at all. How are the preparations going?"

"Good. I just finished the final check. The Lord of House Bile, Lord Plant of Vanhollow, and the ambassadors from Germany and China arrive with their families tomorrow."

Dad set the tray down and poured tea for us. "And the exhibit?"

"On schedule." I smiled slyly. "And I know who will join you for your exclusive tour."

Both of them looked at me expectantly.

"The children of the St. Canard Orphanage. Duke Melvin outbid everyone for the tickets and gifted them to the orphanage."

Mom smiled. "That's wonderful!"

"Chiko has asked me to reserve the banquet room attached to the museum so she can throw the children a cookie decorating party."

Dad elbowed Mom gently. "That sounds like fun!"

She pinched him with a smile. "It does!" She looked to me. "We'll talk to Chiko about the arrangements."

My father's smile disappeared for a moment. "We have reports that the ambassador from Germany has a spy in his entourage. A young boy that is listed as adopted by the ambassador and his wife."

I frowned. "Hitting all the right notes, I see. Are they looking to find a way to the Curio? Or are they looking to get close to Frisk and Chara?"

Mom took a deep breath. "Both. Sans has the Shipworks in order and Miss Luxon is already briefed on the matter." She sipped her tea. "Speaking of which, how are the boys taking the news?"

Both of them looked at me, breaths held.

"They aren't mad at you, so you can relax." I smiled to reassure them. "It's a strange situation and not something anyone could have anticipated. Least of all that Chara already knew." I set my tea cup down. "I am adding her to my team."

Dad put his cup down. "Do you think that's wise? It would mean splitting her attention. She is, at current, our most capable spy buster."

I'd thought this over for months before making the decision. "I want her with us long enough for Anne and Mary to learn her skill set. They've both worked heavily with our spies. Miss Luxon can complete that training. And we need it. We've been blindsided too many times. The Hunt situation flew right under our noses because we didn't want to ruffle too many feathers removing key opposition to Dreemurr rule. Mary's rise to nobility means she will face the same problems Chara and Frisk have longed faced and long kept silent about. It's a new stream of intelligence that I'm not passing up."

Mom's head cocked to the side with a stray thought. "Have you spoken to the Lord of House Nuada about Mary's real position in the Summer Palace?"

I stirred my tea. "Of course I have. I spoke with him about it when I originally brought the Dibdin situation to his attention. He's not happy with it, but acknowledged that it is her decision to work in our service. He's outfitted us with some uniquely fae additions to our equipment. The new armor looks very much like what the fae marksmen wear, though it is marked with the Delta Rune instead of one of the seven pointed house stars. It's lighter, much easier to move around in, resistant to elemental damage caused by ray guns and spells, and has much better stopping power against projectile weapons."

"How is Mary acclimating to her new role among the Fae?"

"Being the Flower has been less of a stretch for her then being an accepted member of the Lord's family. But I think she's finally getting used to the idea of having an older brother and several little sisters who genuinely care for her."

There was a knock and Dogaressa's white snout poked in the door. "Ah! I beg your pardons, Sir, Madam, and Mademoiselle. Lady Anna is looking for the Grand Duchess."

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood. "Thank you, Dogaressa."

She nodded once and shut the door.

"Is it time to get ready for the Festival already?" Mom mused.

"The day went fast." I leaned over and kissed her head. "But you'll see my brothers and I there." I leaned over and rubbed noses with my father. "Save a dance for me."

"Of course, dearest. Stay safe."

I headed out the door and down red carpeted hall. Turning the corner put me on the plaza side of the palace with it's blue interior. I entered my room to find that Amy had my bathing yukata and slippers waiting for me. I quickly changed, being sure to leave Singer on my bed, and met Anne, Mary, and a very trepidatious Elarine in the hall. I guess it was her first time.

Anne gestured for me to follow. "Ready for a bath?"

The thought of the soothing warmth made me sigh. "Oh yes."

While each of the bedrooms in the palace included a water closet with a sink, the only place for a real bath was in the bathhouse on far corner of the palace where the river side met the museum side and opened on a small, private meditation garden. For many years it had been a simple bathhouse with tubs in private rooms. But a visit from several Japanese diplomats in advance of the Empress and the Imperial children visiting led to a complete renovation for their comfort, turning it into a traditional onsen. My mother rather enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the onsen and so I've refused to change it back to something our stodgier guests would prefer.

Anne led the way around the building and down the marble stairs to the bathhouse door. Inside was the reception area, outfitted simply with a table, many stacked baskets, and two stools for the on duty servants, one male and one female. Shelves of towels, soaps, and shampoos waited on either side of the room. Behind the table stood two cloth covered entryways. A red cloth covered the entrance to the women's side on the right and a blue cloth covered the men's on the left. We removed our slippers, placing them on the shoe shelf to the right, before each taking a basket from the table.

Anne and I filled our baskets with a small wash cloth, a large towel for drying, a small bar of rose scented soap, and small bottle of gardenia scented shampoo. Mary helped Elarine with her basket, finding a bottle of the gentle, liquid soap we kept on hand for Fae guests and the now increasing number of Fae on staff. When Mary had finished with her basket, we went through the red curtain, and stepped into another world. The short hallway of plain wood to the left and large windows on the right looked out on the meditation garden now covered with snow. We entered a room at the end of the hall painted a crisp white. A wooden shelf waited for our baskets and we disrobed, carefully folding and placing our yukatas in the baskets.

It took a little coaxing before Elarine would put aside her yukata and follow us, towel held tightly to her chest.

Anne smiled patiently. "I know members of House Lir go naked in the water."

"In the ocean, among our kind, yes. But this is not the deep."

"It's just us girls here. You don't have to worry." I pushed aside a white curtain to reveal the bath. A room kept eternally warm and just a bit steamy greeted us. The front half of the room was split in two by a large rectangular planter brimming with greens. The planter had the dual purpose of looking beautiful and hiding the plumbing of the small brass spigots that lined both sides of the planter. A small stool and bamboo bucket waited next to each spigot. The back half of the room was taken over by a massive bathtub underneath a beautiful mural of a river in the mountains.

Seeing that we were truly alone, Elarine relaxed and followed our lead as we hung our drying towels. Taking our wash clothes and soaps, Mary showed Elarine how to wash herself at the spigot before demonstrating how to fold her wash cloth and wear it on her head to enter the bath. Anne took longer than the rest of us to enter the bath, having taken up the American habit of shaving her legs and under arms. I heard a familiar sigh of satisfaction behind me and blushed a little at the thought of Chara in the water on the other side of the wooden wall that separated the baths.

Elarine sank low into the water with a deep sigh of contentment. Her legs split into eight, long, thin tentacles and her dark skin began to glow softly as luminescent orange spots dotted her skin. She sat up suddenly, squeaking in embarrassment when a tentacle wrapped around Anne's leg.

"Are you all right?" Anne asked.

"I'm so sorry! I..." She stared, mouth agape, at our less than shocked reactions. "You aren't the least bit surprised."

"Not the weirdest thing we've ever seen," Mary said.

"Not even close," Anne added.

I gave her a patient smile. "We know that only a few members of House Lir look like the mermaids portrayed in art."

Mary shrugged, eyes closed as she relaxed against the bath's tiled wall. "With skin as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean, we assumed that you were of a luminescent variety."

Elarine blinked. "You've seen the deep."

Mary opened an eye to look at her. "While most of our adventures are much closer to home, we do manage to keep up with the twins."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that."

We all smiled and it was the exact, same, disconcerting smile.

She sighed. "I suppose my hopes that this would be a quiet position were in vain."

Mary sat up, suddenly concerned. "I'm not asking you to join us on such adventures and if you'd rather leave your appointment, I won't take offense. A lady of your pedigree has better things to do then keep the appointments of some human."

Elarine's glow intensified. "Some human? Some human?! You aren't some human! You're the Flower of Nathirna!" She suddenly clasped her hands to her chest. "My little brother would be with our ancestors right now if you had not saved him."

Mary took the mer-woman's hands in her own. "You don't owe me anything for your brother's healing. I did it of my own free will and without any thought of reward."

Those large eyes like black ink looked up. "And that is why I choose to serve you, Your Majesty."

Mary sighed, smiling a little. "You're going to make me wear the crown tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

And she did. Mary stood in her gown, with a crown of platinum and diamond flowers on her head, and a green coat to match the gown on her shoulders, while we waited for Anne to finish powdering. The boys waited for us downstairs, Cephas helping Frisk adjust his suit. Mr. Johnson drove us to the royal gardens where the Solstice Festival was already underway.

Crowds of humans, monsters, and fae filled the gardens, dancing to the lively music on the shell stage and feasting at the long tables under several pavilions. Paper lamps painted by the children of the city were strung through the trees above us, glowing brightly. The Lords of House Nuada and Ogma invited us to their shared table. I sat across from Mom and Dad, who had Frisk and Chara between them as if to keep them from ever leaving. They did miss my brothers terribly.

Whilst sharing a piece of chocolate cake with Chara, I spied Jeremiah Dibdin, the youngest of the family, before anyone else did, but was too far away to steer him away from Mary when Stephen stepped away to get her hot chocolate. I looked around and saw Lord Ghelfi and his daughter in law Phyllis. I pointed to Jeremiah and they both nodded, making their way over as Chara and I did.

Jeremiah took Mary's hand when she wasn't looking, tugging on her so that she turned to face him. "Mary! You look beautiful beyond words tonight! I've heard that you've been turning down proposal after proposal. Are you waiting for mine, my sweet?"

Mary pulled her hand away. "No. I am not."

Victirion, the heir of House Nuada, stepped forward, putting himself between Jeremiah and Mary. While his father was tall and lithe like a tree, Victirion was very much a warrior and intimidating in his beauty. "My sister is little pleased to see you. You will leave now."

Lord Ghelfi pulled Jeremiah away, only to have another man step forward. Phyllis turned him around and marched him away.

"Do you know who I am?" he growled at her.

"Your Sir Leclairen's son and therefore not important enough to bother Mary."

The next one was a gentleman far too old for Mary, but determined to ask for her hand anyway. Chara led him away with a smile.

I blocked the next one and shooed him off.

"Thank you. All of you," Mary breathed.

Victirion gave her a smile. "Of course. They are all very persistent."

Mary grasped Stephen's hands as soon as he returned, setting aside the hot chocolate. "Thank goodness! You leave my side and I'm set upon like fresh meat before wolves."

Stephen raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying you like having me at your side?"

"Canaille," she huffed. "Of course I do."

"Then let's make that permanent." He knelt on one knee before her. "Will you marry me?"

Stunned speechless for a moment, Mary smiled. "Yes," she breathed. And kissed him.

Mary's little sisters squealed with excitement, dancing in a ring around the couple as Stephen slipped the ring on her finger. The various men who'd been waiting for a chance to propose left in various stages of disappointment. Victirion hugged Mary tightly before hugging Stephen, and taking them both to see the Lord. Trembling the entire time, Mary placed her hand in her Lord Father's so that he might see the ring.

Elarine was suddenly at my arm, distressed. "Did you know he was going to do that?"

"You, Mary, and her sisters were the only ones who didn't know." I looked at her. "Do you not like Stephen?"

"He calls her a cabbage!"

"And she calls him a blackguard." I smiled at her shocked expression. "Humans like to give their loved ones nicknames. 'Cabbage' is a French term of endearment." I looked over at my friends. A round of bickering had opened up between the Lords of House Nuada and House Ogma over where the engagement party would be held, Mary sighing between them while Stephen laughed, holding her close.

Chara returned to my side. "We haven't finished that piece of cake."

I smiled and let him lead me away. A round of feasting was followed by dancing and Dad swung me around for the first dance while I laughed like a child. Mary and Stephen danced with her little sisters while Frisk and Anne twirled around with abandon. Cephas, too shy to approach anyone, was pulled to his feet by a pale haired young woman of similar Fae heritage. It wasn't long before he was talking and laughing with her. When Mom stole Dad away, Chara took my hand in his to dance.

The next morning, our little group had breakfast together in Frisk and Chara's study.

"So where will the engagement party happen?" Frisk asked.

Stephen shrugged. "They compromised. The engagement party will be in the Hall of House Nuada and the rehearsal dinner will be in the Hall of House Ogma."

"At least that compromise came easier than the coronation," Chara drawled.

Mary groaned. "They argued for weeks over where and when that would happen! I'd hoped that when I said it would happen here, that I was slipping free of it entirely."

"Yes. You completely forgot that my parents would be happy to host such an event." I blew on my oatmeal to cool it before taking a bite.

Chara elbowed Mary. "The best part of the whole thing? Frisk and I keeping you on your feet! I'm pretty sure you forgot how to walk halfway through the ceremony."

Mary covered her face with her hand. "I really don't like being the center of that kind of attention. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through a wedding."

Stephen took her hand in his. "I'll be there to help you through it."

She blushed, smiling.

"Well," Chara began. "If you don't want to be the center of attention, we can put Stephen in the dress. He'll look positively radiant."

Stephen glared at him. "I loathe you, Chara. From the very depths of my being."

Cephas snorted his tea and quickly wiped at his face with a napkin. "Oh my God. I love this job!" We all burst out laughing.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in," Chara said.

Miss Luxon opened it to look inside. "Mademoiselle? The curator's assistant from the museum would like to speak with you."

I wiped my mouth and stood, following Miss Luxon out the door.

Fuku immediately grabbed my hand. "Azzy! It's moved! The mummy has moved! I know it has! Jonas says I'm imagining things, but I think he's just too embarrassed to admit it."

"Show me."

She nodded and we headed to the museum. Quietly walking around the contractor and his men as they finished the exhibit installation, we went into storage. I looked down at the mummy I'd examined yesterday. The arms were in the wrong place.

"Are you sure no one had the time or opportunity to move it?"

Fuku shook her head. "Jonas locked both doors to the room before he left for the night and we only just unlocked the doors."

"So no one could have jostled the case? Hmm. Could it have settled like that after finally being from a long time in transport?"

"The arms are crossed the wrong way, so no." She looked at me. "Really, Azzy?"

I waved my hands. "I know. I know." I sighed and pulled out my notebook. "I have some time this morning before guests start arriving. I'm going to need Chara to sort out the Chinese ambassador and his family for me anyway, so I might as well use the time. I'll get back to you later."

Fuku nodded, blue flames sputtering. "I'll keep an eye out. Make sure that someone isn't sneaking around and messing with the exhibit."

"Thank you."

I headed back up to my brothers' study. "Anne? Mary? I need your help."

Frisk wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Is something wrong with the exhibit?"

"I don't know. It might be nothing, but I have an idea on who to ask about it. Chara? Can I still count on you to handle the Chinese ambassador?"

He smiled. "Of course."

"And Frisk, you and Miss Luxon have the German ambassador, correct?"

Frisk gave me a bright smile. "Yes!"

"Thank you."

Anne and Mary finished their breakfasts and followed me down to the plaza entrance. "Have you both looked over the dossier on the German ambassador?"

"Yes," Anne and Mary both intoned.

"I've already packed the ambassador's schedule to keep them busy and not give the spy a chance to get close to Frisk and Chara. It helps that they'll be at the Shipworks for the annual party on Christmas Eve," Anne added.

Wilson came out of the guards' office. "Leaving without someone again, Asriel?"

"You're here aren't you?"

He glowered at me and I gave him my sweetest smile... and huffed when his expression didn't change.

Anne patted my shoulder. "He's still immune, Az. We'll wait while you grab what you need, Wilson."

A few moments later, Wilson climbed into a carriage with us. He paused, looking at Mary, who wore the plain blouse and dark blue skirt of an imperial guardswoman. "Elarine is off this morning, isn't she? Do you know the earful I'd get if she knew you were wandering about town like that? Not to mention how put out your Lord Father would be? You are not a member of the guard any longer and while I appreciate that you still train with Undyne, it is no longer your duty to step into harm's way for Asriel."

Mary sighed. "I'm not useful being the Flower all the time. And this is the only thing I have that covers all the flowers. The collar covers my neck and the sleeves go all the way down to my wrists. From there, all I have to do is style my hair to cover the ones on my face and wear gloves. No one is going to look at me twice while I'm dressed like this."

Wilson sighed. "Fine. But you're changing as soon as we get back. Stephen's family arrives today and you'll want to make a good impression on your future in laws."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you. Where are we heading?"

Everyone looked to me.

"Alphys' Lab."

xxx

What could be making the mummy move? What does Asriel hope to find in the Lab? Find out during next week's installment of Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 2!


	7. Mistletoe and Mummies, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep. 5 - Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 2

Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! Asriel's investigations, and narration, continue as guests begin to arrive at the palace. Will Dr. Alphys be able to help Asriel? Or will she need to find a different source of information? Who is moving the mummy? Stay tuned!

xxx

I read the lines from the paper. "So did you enjoy planning this soiree, Dear Lady?"

Anne, eyes closed, repeated her part, "I did indeed! Do you think the decorations too much?"

"Of course not. Our guests like them, don't they? And did you enjoy planning this party with me?"

"I did enjoy it." Anne made as if she were hiding behind a fan. "But then I think I'd enjoy anything if you were involved."

"Well then, Dear Lady. There is another event for which I would love to have your assistance but before I can ask for your help, there is another question, I must ask you instead."

Anne smiled brightly, pretending the fan was in her hand. "And what question might that be?"

"Well, it's about the theme. I'd like us to host a Cinderella party."

Anne faked a surprised kind of concern. "But that sounds marvelous! Why would you need to ask me anything about that?"

"Because I intend to give the staff the day off and have the guests clean."

Wilson snorted as we helped Anne rehearse her lines for the hosts' skit at the Christmas party during the ride into the city. The carriage stopped at the curb outside the Lab. Inside, multi-colored sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows bathed the interior in a warm, rainbow glow. Where the sunlight ended a railing began, edging the massive, open laboratory.

I walked to the railing and waved down. "Hello, Dr. Alphys!"

The yellow lizard woman looked up and waved back. "Hello, Your Imperial Highness!" She hurried over to the stairs and climbed up to meet us. "Solving a mystery, are we?"

I nodded. "I was wondering if you had any books about mummies and I don't mean the kind that lay in their coffins properly. I mean the kind that get up and walk around."

Alphys tapped her jaw. "I'm not sure I have anything to help you there. Let's have a look."

We followed her over to the card catalog for the massive library housed along the back wall. The catalog was a series of drawers, similar to what you would see in a public or academic library, but each drawer had a brightly shining white light on it. In front of the catalog was a small type writer and Alphys used it to type in several key words: mummies, Ancient Egypt. The lights on the drawers changed from white to either green or red, green indicating that something in the drawer matched the search terms. Not satisfied with the amount of green lights, she added another search term: undead. All lights turned red.

Alphys shoulders drooped. She tried several more terms with no success. Sighing she turned to me. "It doesn't appear that I have what you're looking for." She tapped her jaw for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Sans and Papyrus! You should head over to the Shipworks and ask them. They've been to Egypt several times. They've had to have encounter a mummy moving under it's own power there."

I hugged her. "Thank you, Alphys."

She squeezed me tightly for a moment before patting my back. "Good luck!"

We piled back into the carriage with directions to head for the Shipworks.

"So what exactly are we looking for, Az?" Anne asked.

"The human mummy for the exhibit moved sometime last night. It's arms are crossed the wrong way. But no one has been in or out of the room since Jonas locked it last night when everyone came in this morning."

"Did you check the vents?" she asked.

I blinked for a moment before sighing. "No. No, I did not."

Anne smiled. "We'll have a look when we get back."

The carriage pulled up to the curly, iron work gates of the Shipworks. Heading into the hangar, we set off the bell, and Dr. Gaster's head popped out of his office. "Ah! Hello, Ladies! If you're looking for the twins, they should be at the palace."

"We're looking for Sans and Papyrus," I said.

The doctor pulled out his calendar. "Sans is off somewhere today, but Papyrus is inside the _Curio_."

"Thank you, Dr. Gaster."

"You are most welcome, my dears."

Wilson leaned in toward me as we walked to the _Curio_. "So is Dr. Gaster a skeleton monster like Sans and Papyrus?"

"From what I understand, he's a revenant. Frisk said that he has skin over muscle from his elbows to his shoulders and then from his neck to his knees."

"Interesting. So he isn't related to the skeleton brothers?"

"Not that I'm aware of." I knocked on the hull of the ship and Papyrus stuck his skull out of the hatch.

"YOUR IMPERIAL HIGHNESS AND FRIENDS! WELCOME! HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE TO YOU TODAY?"

"We have a mummy at the museum that might be moving on it's own and would like to know your experience with that sort of thing."

Papyrus came out of the ship and motioned for us to follow him to the kitchen. We sat down at the table as he put on the kettle for tea. "MUMMIES DO NOT MOVE ON THEIR OWN. THEY MUST BE ANIMATED BY MAGIC, USUALLY A SPELL, SOMETIMES A CURSE, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES. ACTIVE MUMMIES ARE LIKELY GUARDING A TOMB OR SOME OTHER TREASURE. I HAVE SEEN CULTISTS RAISE THEM TO FIGHT, USING THEM LIKE AN ARMY. DEPENDING ON THE SPELL USED THEY CAN BE QUITE FORMIDABLE FOES."

The kettle whistled and he pulled it off the heat, pouring it into a tea pot. The smell that drifted up with the steam was absolutely intoxicating.

"Oh wow, that smells good!" Anne exclaimed.

"THIS IS AN ALMOND OOLONG TEA. VERY DELICIOUS! I AM HAPPY TO SHARE IT." He poured cups for us. "YOU WILL FIND THAT IT DOES NOT NEED SWEETENING." He sat down with us. "IF YOU HAVE A MUMMY MOVING IN THE MUSEUM, IT IS NOT MOVING UNDER ITS OWN POWER. SOMEONE IS USING IT."

"Could it move under it's own power if resurrected?" Anne asked.

He tapped his mandible. "OF THAT, I AM NOT SURE. I SUPPOSE THE PROPER SPELL COULD MAKE IT HAPPEN."

Sans came in the kitchen, arms laden with boxes. "*hey there, kids! to what do we owe the pleasure?" He set the boxes down and leaned on them.

"THE MUMMY AT THE MUSEUM APPEARS TO BE MOVING ON ITS OWN, BROTHER."

"*welp. that's not good. would you like me to come by and give it a look?"

I smiled. "If you don't mind, that would be immensely helpful."

"*sure. i need to drop off tori's gift. this evening after tea a good time?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He winked his left eye at me. "*i'll see ya then."

After finishing our tea, we headed back to the palace, rehearsing the lines with Anne the whole way back. In the plaza, the carriage I knew carried the Chinese ambassador from the train station stood empty. I hoped the ambassador and his family weren't too much for Chara. But then, when he switched languages, Chara also seemed to switch personalities, becoming as diplomatic as Frisk. Speaking of Frisk, he stood with the German ambassador and his family, Miss Luxon close behind with a watchful eye. He led them inside the palace as we descended from the carriage.

We headed directly to the museum. The painters were busy putting the finishing touches on the grand displays while Fuku installed beautiful pieces of gold and lapis inlaid jewelry behind glass. She quickly closed and locked the cased when she saw us. Waving us over to the storage room door, she stopped for a moment to peek inside before taking us in. Anne and Wilson went over to look at the mummy while Mary checked the locks on the doors.

"This is fascinating," Wilson whispered.

Anne nodded. "Can you imagine it getting up and walking around?"

"Right now, I'm imagining it chasing the twins and that isn't a happy thought."

Anne patted his shoulder. "You really do think of them as your own, don't you?"

Wilson eyed her for a moment, before frowning with a sigh. "Never tell him this, but I do miss Chara's cocky little smirk when he and Frisk aren't around."

I chuckled as I walked around the walls of the storage room, looking for vents, and finding none. "Fuku? Are there any air vents for this room?"

Fuku nodded. "Yes." She went over to a box and moved it slightly to reveal a small vent on the floor and then pointed up to two small ones on either side of the ceiling.

"Do you know where the ducts for the vents lead?" Anne asked.

Fuku frowned. "I'm pretty sure the one right over my head here goes directly outside to the private meditation garden off the bath house. The one on the other side of the room connects to the one over my head. I think it also connects to ducts for the rest of the museum. The one on the floor? No idea. I'll ask the contractor working on the exhibit and see if he knows. He's the one who put in the new air conditioning system last year."

I pulled out my pocket watch and checked the time. "It's time for lunch. When you have time, Fuku, let me know what the contractor said. If he can give you a map of the duct work, even better."

Fuku nodded, giving me a smile.

"How do the locks look?"

"Secure," Mary answered. "They haven't been tampered with."

I checked my pocket watch. "Lunch will be on in my brothers' study in about thirty. That's enough time to clean up."

Anne hooked her arm in mine as we walked back into the palace. "If you're thinking that someone might be whispering a spell through the ducts, I'm thinking the same thing."

I nodded. "As soon as we know where the ducts lead, I want a look at those rooms." I looked to Wilson. "Will you join us for lunch?"

"Thank you, but I must decline. Today is the guards' pre-holiday luncheon and Chiko has made a wonderful spread for us." He stopped in the grand stairwell. "I'll be along with Sans when he arrives."

"Thank you, Wilson."

He bowed and continued down the first floor hall as we ascended the stairs. We continued to the hall and found Elarine standing there, looking rather put out. "When I was told what you'd left the palace in, I was sure it was a lie. And yet, here you are."

Mary sighed while Anne elbowed her. "Busted!"

The fae woman grabbed Mary's hand. "Come on! I refuse to have you look anything less than queenly."

Mary waved to us for help as she was dragged into the room. Giggling, Anne and I followed. We closed the door just as Elarine began stripping Mary down to her stays.

"I swear! I leave you alone for a morning and this is what I come back too? If you want to dress like a guardswoman, at least have the decency to dress like a Fae one." She pulled a layered dress of pinks and mauves out of the closet and pulled it over Mary's head. "You are meeting your future in laws today and despite how I feel about you accepting Stephen's proposal, I will not have you look less than perfect for the occasion." She threw a sheer, lace shawl over Mary's shoulders to cover her arms. Shoving Mary into a chair, Elarine brushed out Mary's short hair, pulling parts of it up to curl lightly around a floral hair comb.

Mary stared at us from the chair. Help Me! she mouthed while we laughed. Finally dressed to her lady in waiting's liking, Mary quickly made a dash out of the room. "Thanks a lot!" she huffed.

"I'm not going to save you from her," Anne chuckled. "I'm not the fighter in our little troupe."

"Oh you say that like it'd be acceptable for me to defend myself!"

Anne took her arm. "You'll just have to get used to it. Maybe you should talk to the seamstress about finding clothing of a happy medium between what you want and what Elarine demands." Anne kissed Mary's cheek. "I'm sure Asriel would be happy to help you with that seeing as how she likes to dress us anyway."

I chuckled. "The both of you are my personal fashion show!"

Cephas waved to us from down the hall and we headed into the twins' study. Frisk and Chara helped Amy and Emma set the table while Stephen poured the tea.

Just as we sat down for lunch, Lord Ghelfi knocked on the door to draw our attention. "I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but Stephen's parents have arrived."

Stephen stood. "Thank you, Sir."

"You're welcome. Good luck." Lord Ghelfi disappeared as Stephen held out his hand to Mary. She took a deep breath and smiled, placing her hand in his.

He pulled her close. "Don't worry. You look beautiful and I know my parents will adore you."

As soon as they were out the door we all rushed the long way around the grand staircase to watch from the upper floor.

Lord Philip and Lady Esther Plant came through the doors, Stephen's older brother and younger sister behind them. Stephen and his brother Philip resembled their father, who had the same sharp face and bright red hair. Their ten year old little sister, Claire, looked like their mother, with long, dark hair and large, blue eyes.

Stephen's mother took his face in her hands and kissed him. "Oh how I've missed you!"

His father hugged him. "How have you been, son?"

"Good. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Both of them spied Mary patiently waiting an introduction.

"Would this be the fairy queen...?" his mother trailed off as Philip pushed his brother aside.

"I am not here to see you." He stepped up to Mary, kneeling before her with his head bowed. "I have come seeking your hand in marriage, sweet lady."

Mary looked at Stephen for a moment and mouthed, 'Really?' Stephen shrugged and Mary stepped back. "Though I am flattered by your proposal, I have already accepted another."

His head snapped up. "You have?"

"She has," Stephen said. He held out his hand to Mary and she took it, letting him guide her over to his parents. "Mother. Father. I would like to present to you my fiancee, Her Serene Highness, Mary Rood-Epherianferch ap Nuada, the Flower of Nathirna. Chou, these are my parents, Lady Esther and Lord Philip Plant of Vanhollow."

Mary held out her hand. "How do you do?"

Esther instantly hugged her. "Welcome to our family!"

Stephen's father patted him on the back. "Well done."

"Thank you."

Claire pulled at Mary's hand to look at the ring. "How beautiful!"

Philip frowned. "There is no way you could have possibly afforded that."

Stephen raised an eyebrow at his brother. "You are aware that I am paid for my work."

Philip looked at his brother like the thought honestly hadn't occurred to him.

"He has two jobs, just so you know," Chara called. "That means twice as many legally required breaks."

I heard a familiar, fishy snort from inside the guards' office. "If I ever hear that bag of bones give me that line again..."

Mary held in her laugh but couldn't hide her smile. "Come along. It's lunch time and I'm sure you could all use a bite to eat." She turned and looked up at us. "Do you think we can fit four more at the table?"

Chara shrugged. "Probably." He looked at Philip and a wicked smile curled his lips. "I'm sure we can make it work."

Lord Plant stared up at us. "The Grand Princes? My have you grown!"

Frisk laughed. "It's been five years since you last saw us, so I'd hope so."

Mary reached out a hand to Claire, who eagerly grabbed it, staring in wonder at the flowers moving under the skin. "Follow me."

We headed back to the study to find that Emma had already set four extra places. Lunch passed with little Claire dominating the conversation with a multitude of questions about everything from what it was like to live in a palace to how did the airships stay in the sky.

"Would you like to ride in an airship?" Frisk asked.

Claire's eyes grew impossibly huge. "Can I?" She grabbed her mother's sleeve. "Oh please say that I can!"

Lady Esther looked at Frisk. "Will she be safe?"

He nodded. "Certainly." He looked at me. "Do you need Chara and I around this afternoon?"

I shook my head.

Frisk smiled. "Well then, a ride it is!" He looked to Lord Philip and Lady Esther. "Please join us. It's rather exhilarating."

Lady Esther looked unsure. "Well if you it's not an imposition..."

"I offered, so it isn't."

Lady Esther looked to Mary. "Will you join us?"

"I would love to, but I'm meeting the Fae Lord of House Bile on his arrival this afternoon."

Claire looked doubly excited. "A real Fae Lord will be here?"

Mary nodded.

"Oh wow!" She pressed her hands to her cheeks. "This is so exciting!"

I sputtered in my tea on remembering and quickly set it down.

"You all right, Az?" Chara asked.

I nodded. "I just remembered. The orphanage was gifted all the tickets for Mom and Dad's tour of the exhibit. And Chiko reserved the adjacent banquet hall for a cookie decorating party."

Chara helped himself to a piece of chocolate cake. "Nice. Will you put that in our schedule, Ceph?"

Cephas already had his notebook out. "Sure thing. The tour is Christmas morning right?" He squinted at his handwriting for a moment. "Remember that Mr. Larkin will be here this evening to fit your suits for the wedding tomorrow morning."

Lord Philip nearly dropped his tea cup. "The wedding is happening already?!"

Anne shook her head. "Different wedding."

"A friend of Chara and I," Frisk added. He wiped his hands and stood. "Shall we fly?"

"Yes! Yes!" Claire nearly toppled her chair in her excitement.

Lord Philip leaned in toward his son. "The air ships are real? You've seen them?"

Stephen patted his father's shoulder. "Come on."

We all headed down to the front door to see them off, Philip looking dour as he followed his family.

I tapped Chara's shoulder as the Plant family loaded into a carriage. "Keep an eye on Philip the younger. I don't like the ugly look he's giving Stephen."

He gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Will do."

As Mr. Johnson drove them away, I looked to the girls. "Do you want to do anything for the cookie party?"

Mary held out her hands like she was holding a small pine tree. "Growing up, Sister Agnes would hang treats on the Christmas tree for us. Small things like boxes of cookies, bagged sweets, and little toys. I'm sure you'll already have a tree in there so I'll head into town after dinner this evening to pick up a few things."

"I'll go with you," Anne said. "We can go to the Christkindlmarkt! We haven't done that yet this year!" Anne looked to me with a smile.

"How about we skip dinner here and eat at the market?" I suggested.

Both girls nodded emphatically as a carriage bearing the coat of arms of House Bile drew up. Mary took a deep breath and I stepped close in case Mary trembled enough to fall.

A tall fae with a face like a fanged skull, in sweeping, somber red and black robes stepped out of the carriage. Two long horns protruded from the front of his forehead and curved upward. He did not appear to have eyes. A female fae, if the curve of the body was any indication, followed. Her face resembled the skull of a ram, including the horns that curled around her head. Her robes were black and white with silver embroidery. In her arms rested a baby with the same ram skull face wrapped in the red and black blanket Mary had spent a week furiously knitting non-stop after her coronation. The Fae Lord and his wife bowed to Anne, Mary, and I as we bowed to them.

I gestured to my home. "Welcome to the Summer Palace. My family and I are very pleased to have you join us during this most festive season."

A voice as warm as dark soil on a summer day greeted my ears. "Thank you for extending the invitation, Your Imperial Highness." He held out two, sharp clawed hands to Mary, and she placed her hands in his. "Thank you for taking the time to gift my son. He rather likes his blanket."

Mary smiled brightly. "You're welcome! It was the least I could do."

"Hardly. There are many who would say that I had not come in order to offend your Lord Father, and such a gift goes a long way to quell such foolishness." He tapped the engagement ring with one long, sharp claw. "And you have accepted a proposal."

Mary looked at the palace for a moment and one window in particular. "In truth, he'd won my heart many months ago."

I frowned, not wanting to remember that moment. I switched gears. "Please come inside."

The Lord and his wife followed behind me. Two commoner fae took up the rear, carrying bags. I led the way to the room, stopping briefly to have a runner inform my parents of the arrival. As we approached the room, my parent's came around the corner. As they went through the formalities of welcoming the Fae Lord, Fuku caught my eye, waving from the door to my room. I looked at Anne and Mary. They nodded and followed me into the room.

I stepped into my room and it dawned on me. "You didn't tremble at all!"

"What?" Mary looked between Anne and I, before smiling sheepishly. "I guess they seem more like monsters than Fae."

Anne laughed. "Oh wow. Is that all it takes?"

Fuku tapped her foot. "Come on! I have to get back before Jonas realizes I'm missing!"

We went to the map Fuku laid out on my desk.

"The contractor said the air vent on the floor goes to the storage rooms the floor below and then connects with the conditioning system. The air ducts above the room connect to each storage room across the first floor and the second before leading to the outside."

"Excellent! Thank you, Fuku. I'll be by later with Sans. He's going to give us a hand."

"Just so long as it isn't the hand with the whoopie cushion in it. Why does he think that's funny?"

I chuckled.

Fuku groaned, shoulders dropping. "See you later." She went out the door.

Anne was on the map in an instant. "Az, check the storage rooms on the main floor. Mary, take the second floor. I'll take the rooms in the basement."

Mary went over to a painting of my brothers on the wall and pressed the button hidden behind the frame. The painting slid aside to reveal my personal equipment cache. She pulled two radios, tossing them to Anne and I, before grabbing one for herself and hiding it in a pocket among her layers. We each took our goggles, specially made by Chara, crystal bright flashlights, and Anne grabbed her toolkit.

"The radios are already set to channel 4," Mary informed us.

Anne nodded. "Let's go!"

Heading into the museum, we broke off to check our assigned areas. I rummaged through each storage room on the first floor, checking the areas for anything unusual. I was greeted by rooms full of paintings, sculpture, and various objects of historical significance, waiting to leave the quiet loneliness of storage. My radio buzzed.

Anne's voice came through the speaker. "Az? Mary? I found something. Head to the basement. Third door in from the stairs."

I met Mary on the stairs and we headed into the basement together. The door to the indicated room was open, but the interior was dark. I flipped the switch. Nothing.

"Anne?"

"I'm back here! You'll need your flashlights. The bulb's out and the room is packed."

Mary and I flipped on our lights and looked around. The room was indeed packed. I small break in the stacked crates, leaned paintings, and covered statues made a path to the back of the room. Following that little path, I found Anne sitting on top of a crate, flashlight held in her teeth while she unscrewed a vent plate from the wall. Mary and I directed our lights up that way to give her more to work with. Coughing a little from the dust, she pulled the vent plate away and reached into the duct to pull out a small device.

She turned it over in her hands, revealing a dark screen set in a brass casing with three dials, four buttons, and a small cone on one end. Tapping a button and she received no response. She replaced the vent plate, screwing it back into place, and hopped down.

Anne held up the device. "Whatever powers it is out. Let's get somewhere with some light."

We headed back to my room in the palace. Singer crawled down from my hair and jumped onto Anne's arm as Amy came in with the afternoon tea. The little mechanical spider crawled all over her, mending the small tears in her skirt and blouse from climbing up to the vent. Anne handed Mary the device and she looked it over.

"It looks like a recorder with playback. I've never seen one this small before. Even the ones we use aren't this tiny." She pulled out her smallest screwdriver from her radio kit and carefully opened the back to reveal a tangle of wire. She gently pushed the wires aside to reveal a small battery. Mary removed it and tested it. "Oh yes. This is a very dead battery. Give me a minute. I think I have a suitable replacement."

As Mary went out the door, Miss Luxon walked by, and I called to her. "Miss Luxon! If you are not on a specific duty at the moment, we could use your assistance."

Miss Luxon paused and came into the room, bowing with her hand over her heart in the old way. "Yes, Mademoiselle?"

I pointed to the device. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

Miss Luxon turned the device over and went ashen. "This is a device spies use to record target conversations for later playback." She looked at me, eyes a bit wide. "Where did you find this?"

"In the museum, not in my brother's rooms." I held up a hand. "You can relax a little."

Mary came back in with a new battery and shut the case. Turning it over, she flipped it on and pressed play. A voice carefully enunciated words in a language I didn't recognize.

"I don't recognize the language," I said. "Mary? Anne?"

Both shook their heads.

I looked to Miss Luxon and she frowned. "It's Ancient Egyptian, but I don't know what it's saying. I only recognize the sound."

Anne frowned. "But the intonation is definitely a spell."

I smiled, amused. "Well isn't that clever? Who would have thought to record spells for later playback?"

Anne tapped her bottom lip with a finger. "Well, if this is the spell raising the mummy, it likely has to be repeated several times before full potency is achieved. This is a much easier way to do that. Just set it to run."

Mary laughed. "Except the battery ran out! I bet the mummy was just getting up when the recording went dead." She turned off the playback.

"How do you know what Ancient Egyptian sounds like?" Anne asked.

Miss Luxon frowned. "In previous employment, I was sent to spy on cultists in Egypt." She pointed to the device. "If someone planted this to raise a mummy, then they will come back to check to see why the mummy isn't up and around yet," Miss Luxon said. "Would you like me to wait where you found the device to see who comes for it?"

I nodded. "You and at least two other people. Any ideas on who would want to raise a mummy?"

"The knowledge of such a language is very specialized and it sounds like the person who recorded the spell was not a speaker, but rather carefully sounding out the necessary words." Miss Luxon frowned. "It could be anyone."

"*or a very specific someone." We looked up at Sans, leaning against the doorjamb, hands in his suit coat pockets.

We looked at him, waiting for him to go on... only to have him shrug.

We all groaned.

"I assume you saw my brothers at the Shipworks. Are they home now?"

Sans nodded. "*hitched a ride with 'em." He winked at us closing his right eye. "stephen's brother didn't seem too thrilled with that. so do i get to see this mummy or what?"

I felt a flash of... something. A flower? What was that? Mary and Anne stood, heading to the door. I shook it off and put a hand on Miss Luxon's shoulder. "Wait a moment, please." I looked up at Anne, Mary, and Sans. I'll meet you in the museum."

Miss Luxon turned to me as the three left. "Yes, Mademoiselle?"

"There are two things matters I wish to bring up with you. The first is easy enough. I know that you are aware that my ladies and I handle several matters of state ourselves and discreetly. I would like you to join us."

Miss Luxon frowned. "Doing so would not be optimal for the Guard."

"Of that I am aware. However, you have a unique skill set that I want Anne and Mary to learn. Anne needs to be a better fighter while Mary needs better instruction in the taking on of personas. I am not expecting you to be with us full time, but as there are lulls in your time with the guard, you would be very useful to us."

She bowed, hand over her heart. "Then I would be happy to be of service to you."

I smiled. "And now for the second matter. Thank you for staying on during the holidays, Miss Luxon."

"It is no trouble to do so, Your Imperial Highness. I do not have a family with which to spend the holidays."

I smiled slyly. "Now we both know that isn't true, Miss Luxon."

Alice frowned, but did not contradict me.

I picked up the red and gold gift box sitting on my mantle. "This is for you."

She bowed, hand over her heart. "Thank you, Mademoiselle." She took the box and opened it.

I turned to look out the window, watching the snow fall on the interior garden. "It isn't from me. It's from your sons."

I heard the box clatter to the floor and turned to find her on her knees, weeping. A golden locket set with a large aquamarine split to resemble two pieces of a heart coming together hung open between the hands she pressed to her face, recent photos of my brothers gracing the insides.

"They weren't ever supposed to know," she gasped between sobs. "Not ever."

"You'll find that my brothers..." I paused, "your sons, are not easily left in the dark. Did you really think Frisk's brilliant smile when he saw you, or Chara's rather irritable attitude when he spoke to you, were simply just the way they did things? Though they'd rather not see you endanger yourself for their sakes, they understand why you have chosen this path." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be a little easier on yourself."

She let out a long, shuddering sigh. Taking a deep breath she stood, composing herself. She kissed the locket before slipping the chain around her neck. Dabbing her eyes with a lace edged handkerchief, the mask of the bodyguard slipped back into place, and she followed me to the museum.

Sans chatted up Jonas while Anne and Mary looked around the completed gallery. Fuku and the preservationists were installing the last exhibits while the assistants and interns cleaned fingerprints from the cases. The cat mummy was in it's case next to a display explaining the significance of animals in Ancient Egypt. The human mummy rested in it's display.

"So far, we don't have an identification on the mummy," Jonas huffed. "I'd hoped the professors from the university would have an idea, but they spent four solid hours arguing over it."

Anne suddenly grabbed Jonas' arm. "The paperwork! Where's the paperwork for the mummy?"

Jonas' feathers ruffled at the sudden contact. "In my office. Just a moment." He came back with a sheaf of papers. "Mummy is listed as Thutmose III. The carbon dating on the mummy puts date of death between 1010 and 995 BC. Discovered in Tanis in 1940."

We all looked at Sans.

He shrugged. "*only pharaoh that was unearthed in tanis in 1940 was psusennes the first. and that's another mummy that egyptian authorities wouldn't let leave the country."

Anne frowned. "Who signed off on the transfer?"

Jonas adjusted his reading glasses and peered at the paper. "Wessam Bishara."

Miss Luxon held out a hand for the papers. Jonas looked surprised, but handed them over. She flipped through them swiftly before returning them with a small smile and a head bow.

Sans shrugged. "*well i'm no expert, but the wrappings look pretty intact so i bet a cartouche with the mummy's name on it is still wrapped up in there."

An intern looked up. "If that's the case, we can stick the mummy under an x-ray and find out."

Before Jonas could protest, Fuku had the interns retrieving the x-ray machine the museum used to inspect sculptures. The interns set up the machine while Fuku moved everyone out of the room. One of the preservationists, pulled a long cord from the machine to the door we hid behind and activated the x-ray. After a short buzz, we headed back in to look at the image produced by the machine.

On the screen was an intact skeleton with several amulets placed all over the body... and one cartouche.

Fuku's fist pumped the air. "Pay dirt! Now we can figure out who this guy is!"

"*it's not a guy."

We all looked at Sans and he shrugged.

"*that's a female skeleton."

Everyone rushed to get a closer look at the screen.

"He's right!" One of the preservationists shouted. "The pelvic cavity is too wide and too deep to be male."

Jonas carefully drew the cartouche in his notebook. He nudged Fuku. "Get the book of royal cartouches from my office."

Fuku was off like a shot and back in a flash. She held up a massive book while Jonas flipped through the pages.

"Mer... Mer... Merit... Merit... Merit... Meritamen!" He tapped his feathered chin. "There's a few of them." He chuckled. "One of them being a daughter of Thutmose III. Wouldn't that be a laugh if that's who we had! I'll send this to the uni for verification."

I nodded and turned to everyone with a smile. "Thank you all for your hard work. I believe that this will be the best exhibit you've presented by far!"

The museum team were all smiles and Jonas puffed up with pride. I led my little group back into the palace and to my suite. I signaled for a runner in the hall to bring us tea as Anne, Mary, Sans, and Miss Luxon shuffled into the room. I closed the door behind us.

"Who is Wessam Bishara?"

Miss Luxon frowned, arms folded over her chest. "A cultist and member of the Vampire Illuminati. And he did sign off on the papers. That was his handwriting though it's not his voice on the recording device."

Anne slapped a palm to her forehead. "Vampire Illuminati?"

"Not those idiots again," Mary groaned.

Sans smiled. "*huh. wasn't aware you girls knew about them."

"Oh if I get bitten again..." Anne trailed off. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes closed. "The only person I want being that close to me is Frisk." She suddenly froze, fingers to her lips in surprise. "Please excuse my out burst."

Sans chuckled and gave her a wink with his left eye closed. "*no worries, kiddo. we all know you're sweet on him."

Miss Luxon fought to hide her smile. "How long ago were you bitten?"

"A year and a half ago."

She nodded. "Then you'll be out of their influence. It will only last as long as the bite is on you. After it heals, they can't control you without another bite."

"It also helps that we staked him," Mary said. Anne nodded.

"Any guesses on why the Vampire Illuminati is trying to raise a mummy?" I asked. "It's only one mummy and one mummy isn't all that useful."

"*depends on the mummy. if the meritamen in question is a sorcerer of some sort, that can spell a significant amount of trouble."

We groaned at the bad joke.

"Do you think the Vampire Illuminati is making another attempt on the empire?" Mary asked.

Anne nodded. "If they're involved, that's exactly what it means."

"I'm amending my earlier order, Miss Luxon. Inform Undyne of the situation." I looked out the window and watched as the sun began to set.

Miss Luxon nodded. "As you wish."

There was a knock at the door and Chara poked his head in. "We're heading over to The Olive Table for dinner. Would you ladies like to join us?"

"We're heading to the Christkindlmarkt if you would like to join us," Anne answered.

Chara turned, talking to someone out of sight. "Want to hit the Christmas Market?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Frisk exclaimed. He pushed his brother out of the way to look in the door. "How about we do both? We can hit the market and then go to dinner."

Anne smiled and pulled Frisk into the room. "That sounds like a plan!"

Sans winked. "*i'll catch you kids later." He disappeared.

Anne and Mary, headed out the door and down the hall to grab their coats from their room. Frisk gave Miss Luxon a bright smile before following the girls. I paused outside the door while Chara continued to wait, arms crossed over his chest.

"Chara?" I whispered.

Red eyes gave Miss Luxon, the locket visible on her chest, a side long glance. "You're included in the invitation."

She blinked, lost for a moment, and then nodded. "I must speak with Undyne first." She headed down the hallway for the stairs and the imperial guards' office.

I waved the boys on with a smile. "We'll meet in the plaza."

Chara nodded and I went into Anne and Mary's room. Checking to be sure Elarine wasn't around, I opened the secret closet hidden next to Anne's bed. "When we're done in the market, we'll go hunting."

Anne frowned. "Vampire hunting at night is not optimal."

"No. But with enough sneaking, we can figure out what the Vampire Illuminati are up too."

Mary and Anne changed into dark blue, high collar dresses, pulling on the Fae armor, which had the advantage of looking like decoration rather than something truly useful. I handed Mary the leather bound case that held our vampire kit. Mary opened it, hiding various weapons on her, while Anne hid the usual vampire deterrents on her person. Together they tested the swing of their skirts, being sure that the fabric hung properly despite being laden with objects, before pulling on their coats. I closed the secret closet and we headed down to the plaza. The boys waited for us along with Stephen's mother and little sister, who instantly attached herself to Mary's arm.

After piling into a carriage, Frisk pulled Anne close, cuddling her against the cold. "Ready for the skit tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Shall we practice?"

Frisk kissed her cheek. "So did you enjoy planning this soiree, Dear Lady?"

Anne smiled, "I did indeed! Do you think the decorations too much?"

"Of course not. Our guests like them, don't they?" He squeezed her hand. "And did you enjoy planning this party with me?"

"I did enjoy it." Using her hand, Anne made as if she were hiding behind a fan. "But then I think I'd enjoy anything if you were involved."

"Well then, Dear Lady. There is another event for which I would love to have your assistance but before I can ask for your help, there is another question, I must ask you instead."

"And what question might that be?"

Frisk smiled. "Well, it's about the theme. I'd like us to host a Cinderella party."

Anne faked a surprised kind of concern. "But that sounds marvelous! Why would you need to ask me anything about that?"

"Because I intend to give the staff the day off and have the guests clean!"

Cephas snorted. "Oh that'll go over great!"

Stephen chuckled, his arm around Mary, while Miss Luxon stifled a laugh behind her hand. Lady Plant and Claire giggled.

The carriage pulled up to the Christkindlmarkt, a large Christmas market filled with rows and rows of red roofed, enclosed booths glowing brightly in the early evening. The market was set up every year in the Peace Blossom Plaza. The water in the fountain that surrounded the unfurling flower sculpture in the middle of the plaza was drained, and several massive pine trees were set in a circle around the sculpture, each covered in hundreds of glittering lights. Paper lantern stars in every color of the rainbow were strung across the plaza above our heads. Here and there through out the plaza, taking up space where the booths ended, were two carousels, an Italian trapeze, two roller coasters, a spinning, teacups ride, a large, children's playground, and a massive Ferris wheel. A small steam train festooned in greenery and red ribbons, with open air seats traveled around the entire market.

"So did Sans know who the mummy was?" Ceph asked and we stepped into a booth filled with blown glass ornaments.

I shook my head. "No. But he did come up with the suggestion that let us find a cartouche with a name on it on the body. It also seems that the mummy is not a Pharaoh, but a female."

"Well, there were female Pharaohs," Ceph informed me. "The most famous of which is Hapshetsut. Where you able to translate the name?"

I nodded while looking over a particularly intriguing glass bulb. "Jonas identified the mummy as Meritamen. He said there were quite a few of them."

Ceph spied an ornament that appeared to be a very artistic glass tree inside a brightly colored orb. "Oh yeah! Thutmose III had two daughters named Meritamen. Ramses II had a daughter named Meritamen. There was a commoner who rose to great popularity as a singer with the name, and a couple Meritamens who are mentioned as princesses on stele here and there." He turned to me with the ornament in his hand. "My mother would really like this one."

"It's very beautiful."

He smiled and had it wrapped after paying for it. We headed over to the next booth where Mary and Anne were picking out packages of candy to hang on the tree for the cookie party, sorting through chocolates, hard candies, gummies, and mallow creams.

I tapped my chin. "Are there any Meritamen's who are sorcerers or magic users?"

He frowned. "Historically, no. In legend, yes. There are stories of a priestess named Meritamen who is fabled to have been powerful enough to rival the gods. Some of the stories surrounding her make her out to be an evil person who used her power to attempt to take over the ancient world. Some of the stories make her out to be a devoted priestess of Ma'at, seeking to restore and keep the peace of Ma'at in her time."

"Hmmm..."

Little Claire pulled on Mary's sleeve. "I've never seen so many types of candy before! What are you buying all these candies for?"

"The children in the city orphanage are visiting the museum on Christmas day. Lady Anna and I are getting treats to hang on the Christmas tree."

"Oh! Like the cinnamon and gingerbread cookies mom hangs on our tree! But we don't eat those." She shook her head, curls swinging. "They're just decoration."

Chara pointed to the next booth. "There's a booth that makes those cookies." He held out his hand. "Would you like to see them?"

"Yes!" Claire put her hand in his, skipping to the next booth.

"Oh, she isn't too much, is she? I really don't want her bothering anyone," Lady Plant tittered.

Frisk waved off the concern. "Chara wouldn't have offered if it bothered him, Dear Lady. Why didn't Lord Plant or Philip join us?"

"Dad doesn't do well with long trips and turned in early. My brother found the museum and one of the preservationists was giving him a tour," Stephen answered.

Several passing Fae saw Mary and bowed, a few offering to carry any packages for her.

Lady Plant leaned in toward me. "How do you tell the fae apart? I mean, how do you tell who is who?"

"There are two kinds of fae. The ones with Mary now are commoner fae. They all have what you would think of as a classically elven look with pointed ears and slender bodies, and typically have human names. The noble Fae all have attributes that are associated with the ancestor who began the house. For example, House Nuada fae all appear to have skin like the bark of a tree and the closer they are in lineage to the Lord of the house, the more they look like living trees. House Ogma fae appear to be carved from various types of rocks and minerals. House Bres fae look like different types of flowering and fruiting plants. House Goibhniu fae appear to be made of different metals. House Bile fae are closely associated with death and have heads that appear like animal skulls. House Lir fae appear as different kinds of water bound creatures. Mary's lady in waiting, Elarine, is from House Lir. I'll introduce you to her tomorrow."

"So many!"

I nodded. Chara and Claire came back, the darling little girl holding up a multicolored, dragon shaped, gingerbread ornament. "Look what I found for Papa!"

"Oh he'll love that!" Lady Plant kissed the top of her little girl's head. As we walked the rest of the market, Claire's little legs grew tired. Frisk picked her up, carrying her on his back while she giggled. We took that as a sign to move along to dinner and wrapped up making our purchases. We left our packages in the back of the carriage before taking a short walk over to The Olive Table. Chara held a chair for Miss Luxon, and I smiled that he was making an effort to be more like a son despite his conflicted feelings.

Lady Plant leaned in toward me to whisper, "Is there a December-May romance going on?"

I bit back a laugh and shook my head. "Miss Luxon has a unique relationship with the imperial family." I placed a hand over the golden, heart shaped locket hidden under my dress. He'd given it me on my birthday a month ago. "No, Chara's heart belongs very firmly to someone else, but, for political reasons, it is not a relationship he can pursue."

She put her hand to her heart. "Oh, the poor dear."

Dinner went pleasantly with little Claire talking up a storm about how interesting the market was until she fell asleep in her chair, her head resting on Mary's lap. On the carriage ride home, I directed the driver to drop Anne, Mary, and I at the royal gardens so that we could enjoy a night stroll and see the street performers. Miss Luxon disembarked with us as I gave directions for the driver to retrieve us in two hours. After wishing my brothers and friends a good night, we headed into the gardens... and straight through to the other side.

"I am not pleased that the three of you would go off vampire hunting without taking a member of the guard with you."

I looked to Miss Luxon. "You're here, aren't you?"

"Yes. And not remotely equipped for such an endeavor."

"We have you covered," Anne said. We stepped into the alley that hid the entrance to the in town vampire hideout and pulled our equipment together. Mary pulled a blessed sword and handed it to Miss Luxon, before putting a cross bow together from the components hidden in her dress. Anne moved her deterrents into a belt of pockets that she clasped around her waist.

I gathered them to me, all of us putting our heads in a circle. "We're on reconnaissance only. The objective is to find out what the Vampire Illuminati is up too. We will only engage with the vampires if we cannot avoid detection. If it comes to that, we'll move to more aggressive styles of information gathering. Ready?"

They nodded and we broke formation. I located the brick to press and open the secret door in the wall. Miss Luxon took point as I pressed the brick and we descended into darkness.

xxx

What will they find in the vampires' lair? Find out next week in Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 3!


	8. Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep. 5 - Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 3

Welcome back, Ladies and Gentlemen! In tonight's episode, Asriel, our narrator, and her attendants descend into the vampires' lair. What awaits our lovely ladies in the darkness? And will they escape unharmed?

xxx

The darkness continued all the way down to the bottom of the stairs, leaving us in pitch blackness, which was completely abnormal. No matter how many times we've attacked the Vampire Illuminati at this exact spot, they refused to abandon it. I summoned a flame into my hand and illuminated the room. Piles of dust that had once been vampires filled what was once a posh, red velvet room. The carpet was torn in places and the paintings that decorated the walls looked scorched. We headed deeper into the lair, finding more evidence of destruction. A massive fight had happened here and the entire hide out was a broken mess. The desk in the second room had been broken into and the contents emptied.

I huffed. "Ridiculous."

"Want to check the Illuminati temple hidden in the river?" Anne asked quietly.

I frowned and checked my pocket watch. It was well on past midnight. I shook my head. "We'll call this a bust and head home."

Anne nodded. "Light it up bright so I can take photos of all the rooms."

I summoned an array of small fireballs, lighting the rooms brilliantly. Anne pulled out her Olendex 35mm, a gift from Frisk, and photographed the rooms in detail while Mary and Miss Luxon watched our backs. We retreated, stopping in the alley to close the hidden door and hide our equipment. The late, holiday crowds were starting to head home and the gardens were slowly emptied. As we approached the entrance from which the carriage would retrieve us, Miss Luxon and Mary pulled their guns, instantly taking up positions to protect Anne and I. Three men and a woman in vampire hunting gear surrounded us, crossbows ready.

I stepped forward, summoning my chaos saber into my hand. "In the name of the Emperor, stand down."

"Blazes! It is the Grand Princess!" the man on my right exclaimed.

The men lowered their weapons but the woman didn't budge, aiming directly at Miss Luxon. "What interest does the imperial family have in vampires?"

"Only the usual. Staking and cutting off heads," Anne answered.

She used her crossbow to motion toward Miss Luxon. "Then what is she doing with you? She's a known Illuminati collaborator."

"She is one of my women and I will not allow you to harm her," I growled.

"Back down, Abby," one of the men called. "If the imperial family is involved, something big must be in the works." He stepped up to me and bowed with his hand over his heart in the old fashioned way. "I am Richard Saunderson and this is my vampire hunting team. We're tracking a powerful vampire by the name of Wessam Bishara. We have reason to believe he's in St. Canard."

I spared Anne a glance, looking for her wisdom. She nodded, giving me her okay to trust them. "Wessam Bishara signed off on documents to deliver Ancient Egyptian antiquities to the museum attached to the Summer Palace. We came to the vampires' known hide out to gather intelligence. I suppose you four already cleared it out. Did the vampires reveal any part of their plans or find any documents?"

Saunderson shook his head. "We found several very young, newly made vampires, but nothing else. The desk was completely empty and I busted it up a bit to be sure that there weren't any hidden compartments."

"We noticed." I looked back at Miss Luxon and saw that 'Abby' still had her weapon trained on her. "You will put your weapon down, or I will put you down."

"Not until I see her neck," the woman snarled.

Miss Luxon undid the button on her collar and revealled a neck of nothing but smooth flesh.

The woman's eyes darted to Anne and Mary. "You two as well."

Anne rolled her eyes and pulled her collar down. Mary unbuttoned her collar and the woman suddenly backed away in fear.

"You're the Fairy Queen!" she gasped. Turning tail, she and one of the other men ran.

Sauderson sighed. "I apologize. My friends are from a place where goblins and other less kind fae rule the land. If we find out anything on Bishara's whereabouts, how shall we inform you?"

I reached into the interior pocket of my coat and pulled out my calling card. "Show this the guardsmen at the palace gate and they will bring you to me."

He took the card and bowed again before looking to his remaining friend. "Let's go find them."

We exited the gardens and found the carriage waiting for us, the driver nervously tapping his watch. He sighed with visible relief when he saw us.

I patted his shoulder reassuringly as I climbed in. "I'm sorry we kept you waiting."

He patted my hand before turning to the wheel. "I'm just glad that you're safe, Mademoiselle."

That night, I couldn't sleep. Mary sat next to the fire, knitting, while Anne worked on developing her film in a hidden room behind a painting of my parents. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Wilson had one of our radios on him as he and several members of the guard hid in the museum, and I occasionally glanced at the radio laying on my pillow. Anne looked at her watch, angling it so the light from the fireplace hit it. One hour. Two. Three. Nothing.

As Anne hung the photos to dry, Mary climbed into the bed. I finally drifted to sleep.

Undyne banging on my door, woke me.

I could always tell when it was her. It was a very distinctive slam.

I dragged myself up. "Come in, Captain."

Anne and Mary both sat up groggily, Mary staring out the windows at a morning just barely beginning to light.

Undyne swept in, closing the door behind her, and took a seat at my little table. "Nothing. Not a single thing all night."

"Someone's on to us," Anne yawned.

I frowned. "But how did they find out so fast?"

"Saunderson and his vampire hunters probably tipped Bishara off by killing everyone in the hideout." Anne stumbled into a chair.

"Great. Just great." I rubbed my temples. "Once the sun is high, we'll check the temple in the river."

Mary flopped back on the bed. "Good. I could use more sleep."

Undyne stood. "I'll have Wilson meet you at the docks at ten. He needs some sleep too." She closed the door behind her as she left.

Anne and I crawled back into the bed slept until Amy gently shook me awake around nine. She poured three cups of very strong coffee and set them on my little table as she put out breakfast. Mary rolled out of the bed and gulped the coffee before shaking herself. She went back to the bed and shook Anne.

"Time to wake up. We have things to do before the party."

Anne sat bolt upright. "Oh my goodness! The party is today!" She jumped out of bed and quickly ate breakfast with Mary before they ran to their room to dress. As Amy cleaned up, I pressed the button that opened a hidden closet next to the painting of my brothers. Tossing my dressing gown aside, I changed into a pant and vest suit similar to the ones that Mr. Larkin prepared for my brothers. Amy quickly pulled my hair up before I put my goggles on my head, strapped on the fae armor, and put my equipment bag on my shoulder. Singer ran across the wall to jump and land in my hair as I went out the door, Amy closing the closet as the door to my room swung shut.

I ran into my mother just as she was about to enter the Lord's suite. She gently touched my face with a sigh born of having long given up trying to convince me to let others handle these things. "Off to save the empire?"

I smiled. "And a few other people too. Can you see to our arriving guests this morning?"

Mom nodded and rubbed her nose against mine before disappearing into the suite. I ran into Mary and Anne's room to find Elarine stomping her foot and backing Mary, dressed and ready, into a corner.

"No. No. NO! I will not let you be seen wearing... wearing... whatever this is! You are a queen!"

I walked around Elarine and grabbed Mary's hand. "She's also my champion and I have need of her."

Elarine looked at my identical clothing and threw up her hands. "What am I going to do with you?"

Mary patted her shoulder. "It's all right, Elarine. We'll be back before you know it."

The fae covered her face with her hands. "Just go before I decide to do something drastic to stop you."

Anne grabbed her bag as we ran out the door. Taking a hidden passage to avoid being seen, we rounded to the ground floor and the riverside entrance. Wilson waited on the docks with Captain Bryce ready to sail us up the river.

The Captain bowed. "Where too, Your Imperial Highness?"

"Vasp Run."

The Captain nodded.

"Are we checking the Illuminati Temple in the river?" Wilson asked.

"Yes."

Captain Bryce had us at our destination within forty minutes, which is something of a record for reaching the Vasp. We spent the ride going over the photographs, looking for anything that might be a clue to what's going on. Going ashore, Anne activated a hidden lever in a false, metal tree. A rumbling shook the ground as a white temple in the Greek style rose from the water with a stone path to it. We traversed to the door and Wilson found the hidden switch to open it.

We descended into darkness. Wilson went first with his flashlight out. The stairs were very dry, despite the river being just on the other side of the walls. Even my boots seemed dry despite having just walked across a wet path. I put my hand up and felt the soft pulse of magic in the walls. After a long descent, the sound in the stairwell changed and I knew that we were now under the river itself. A door slid aside automatically as we approached to reveal a brightly lit room with two rows of coffins. The walls were covered in paintings of men and women of such ethereal beauty, they could not have been real... unless they were vampires. We very carefully opened the lid of one coffin and closed it just as quietly. It was empty. We checked the rest. All empty.

Wilson checked the next room and found nothing but a table and more paintings of ethereal beauty. We headed into the last room and found a desk strewn with maps of the museum, maps of the palace, and documents covered in hieroglyphs.

"Who writes everything in hieroglyphs?" Mary asked.

"Either a very old vampire or a very pretentious one," Wilson said. "Based on Miss Luxon's report on Bishara, this is likely his work."

"Does Chara read hieroglyphs?" Anne asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know." In truth, I wasn't sure how many languages my beloved Chara knew in some capacity. He just always seemed to know the language we needed when we needed it.

"Gather them up," Wilson ordered. "We'll find someone who can read them."

We gathered up the papers before heading out of the temple. As we headed back down the river, the temple sank beneath the water, hidden again from sight. We spent the ride back looking over the documents, hoping to gain some insight from the maps at least. Once home, we headed to the imperial guards' office. In a meeting room in the back, Undyne had lunch and a crusty, old turtle waiting for us.

"Gerson!" I hugged the old turtle tightly.

"How are you doing, little Azzy? Though you aren't so little anymore! Wahaha!"

"Tell me you read Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and I'll be doing just fine."

He winked at me. "It's why I'm here!"

We put the papers and maps in front of him and he read through them, making notes on several pieces of paper while Anne, Mary, and I ate. Miss Luxon came in the room and sat with us.

Undyne looked to Gerson. "What've you got for us, Old Timer?"

"The maps indicate placement of vampires and minions for when the mummy wakes up to take over the palace. The rest of the papers are a correspondence between a Wessam Bishara and some unnamed person in St. Canard. The mummy is supposed to be the Pharaoh Menkheperre, but no such pharaoh ever existed as far as I remember. But then, the Ancient Egyptians were quick to erase the bad ones from history! Wahaha!"

I smiled. "They have the wrong mummy! The cartouche we found under the x-ray revealed it to be a woman by the name of Meritamen."

"Meritamen, huh? There were several of those. Any specific one?"

I sighed. "I have a sinking feeling that it might be the legendary one that's also a terrifyingly evil sorceress."

Gerson nodded, sitting back. "She might also be a nice gal. Won't know until she gets up and starts walking around."

Undyne smiled. "With this in hand, no mummies or vampires will escape us!" She looked to me. "You have about an hour to get ready for the Christmas party."

Anne's head hit the table. "Oh."

Mary helped her up. "Come on. I'll have you dressed and ready in no time."

I followed them back to their shared room to help them into their gowns. Mary's gown was simple, silver, embroidered with white flowers, and showed as much skin as was decent. I swore that if it wasn't absolutely lewd to do so, the seamstress would have Mary's legs showing. Elarine placed a platinum tiara with golden flowers on Mary's head.

Anne's gown, however, was a feast! The frock was made of a ruby red silk reminiscent of Frisk's eyes when he was in a certain mood; Anne's favorite color. It was heavily embroidered with golden flowers and golden lace at the breasts and along the hem.

"You look like a princess!" Claire exclaimed, poking her head in the room.

Mary smiled as Claire and Lady Plant came in the room. "I bet we can make you look like a princess!"

Elarine brought over a large white box.

But Claire didn't look at the box, she stared in wonder at Elarine. "Oh wow! You look like the sky at night! Are you a Fae?"

Elarine laughed. "I am a lady of House Lir. What you might call a mermaid, though I don't have fins or a tail."

Claire put her hands on the box Elarine held to stand up on tip toe. "Can you breath under water?"

"Of course!" Elarine moved her tendril hair aside to reveal several long lines on her neck. "These are my gills."

"Wow!"

"Shall we dress you like a princess?"

Claire nodded excitedly.

Lady Plant leaned in toward me. "Will we see more Fae while we're here?"

I nodded. "The Lord of House Bile and his family are here and I believe that tomorrow morning, you will be joining Stephen and Mary at the House of Nuada for their celebration."

Lady Plant began to look very nervous. "Oh my."

I took her hand and patted it. Elarine held out the white box. Claire pulled the lid off and gasped at the dress of blue brocade and white pearls.

"What do you think?" Mary asked.

"Oh I love it!"

Elarine helped her into the gown and she twirled around and around for her mother. A knock at the door informed us that our escorts were waiting. In the hall, Claire nearly bowled her brother Philip over.

"Look at me, Philip! I'm a princess!" She twirled around before spying several other children dressed for the party and skipping after them.

Philip looked at us. "Did something happen last night? We certainly couldn't find any of you this morning."

I shrugged. "Well, my brothers were at a wedding and I believe your brother and Ceph joined them. As for my ladies and I, that is a matter of... national security."

Derision swept his eyes and he looked down his nose at me. "And why would the Grand Princess and her ladies be involved in such things?"

I smiled patiently. "I understand that, being from the middle of nowhere, the idea that a woman should be involved in matters of state seems out of the ordinary, but I assure you, Philip, women are no strangers to the halls of power." I smiled, teeth sharp. "And I suggest you get used to the idea, seeing as how I, a woman, am your sovereign."

Philip stepped back, just a little afraid. His mother grabbed his arm, pulling him away as she whispered fiercely in his ear in a most vicious manner. Stephen stifled a laugh as he held out an arm to Mary. She took it, letting him lead her down the hall. Cephas stepped up to me, a lovely woman with the same white hair, pale skin, and pale blue eyes on his arm. She wore a blue gown as icy and pale as her eyes.

"Asriel, I'd like to introduce my mother. Lady Parentha Hope. Mom, this is Her Imperial Highness, the Grand Duchess, Asriel Dreemurr."

Lady Hope curtsied. "Thank you for inviting me to stay this holiday. I apologize for the trouble the disarray of my household has and is likely to continue to cause you for the next three days. I promise to avoid the scheduled events my... former husband is likely to attend."

I smiled sympathetically. Ceph's hope that his father would reconcile with his mother if he became an imperial Gentleman of the Bedchamber had crumbled a few months after his appointment. Lord Adam Durrant divorced his wife and married his long time mistress a week later. To say that the divorce was unpopular in Ravendenn was an understatement. Lady Parentha, the only daughter of the Fae noble Angolon, was well loved. And news reports of Ceph's adventures with my brothers, have lifted him to the status of a local hero and source of pride for Ravendenn. It was the reason why his father hadn't disowned him, though we were all sure he was waiting for an excuse to do so.

"Please do not let such things concern you. It is our honor to have you as our guest for this festive season."

She curtsied again. "Thank you, Mademoiselle."

Cephas led his mother away and down the hall. Frisk offered Anne a bright smile to go with his arm. Chara looked me up and down before he dragged me into my room and kicked the door shut behind us. It was only then that I realized I wasn't dressed. He helped me out of my uniform and into a simple purple dress, tying the ribbon in the back for me.

"How was the wedding?"

Chara spun me to be sure my dress was in order. "Lovely. I'm pretty sure Professor Bevan was ready to swoon on several occasions. Jenny looked especially lovely though." He touched my face. I never had circles under my eyes, but he could tell when I was overly tired. "Long night?"

"Yes. And a long morning."

"Do you need Frisk and I?"

I shook my head and gave him a smile. "I just need you to enjoy the holiday."

He kissed my cheek and offered me his arm. "You know you can always count on us the way we count on you."

I gave him a quick peck as I took it. "I know. Ready?"

"I'll be on Duke Koll like pigeons on birdseed," Chara grinned. "Do you think Anne suspects?"

I shook my head. We headed out of the room, down the hall to the stairs, into the grand ballroom. Where I stopped and stared, completely stunned. I'd thought that no one could top the decorations that Chara and I had arranged last year, but Frisk and Anne had easily put our work to shame. The gold and white curtains had been changed out for red velvet with golden appointments. A small Christmas tree stood in front of each pillar wrapped in multiple strings of bright, white lights. White birch, tree branches, wrapped in lights, reached for the ceiling making natural, half arches of light. Golden bulbs hung from the branches.

A long buffet table filled with roast turkey, dressing, roasted vegetables, meat pies, cookies, desserts, and a variety of drinks rested behind the column of pillars on the right. Round tables covered in red and white table clothes and set with chairs wrapped in glittering, golden fabric, made a half circle around the dance floor. In the middle of each table rested a basket of the most succulent fruits and red and white poinsettias. The poinsettias were carried all around the room, decorating the imperial dais with the occasional bunch of red and white roses here and there. On the dais, my parents' thrones had been moved back to make room for the musicians.

Chara faked a sulk. "This is way better than what we did last year."

I bopped his cheek with my snout. "I'd say it's just about perfect."

Chara caught my drift and gave me a wink before heading off. Finding Duke Koll at a table, he immediately began chatting up the man, while her mother and I kept anyone from getting too close to Anne and Frisk.

An hour into the festivities, my father tapped a spoon to his glass and the room quieted. "Thank you all for joining us this afternoon. Grand Prince Frisk and Lady Anna are our hosts this afternoon and I dare say they've put together quite a party." A round of applause erupted and my father waved his arms to quiet the room. "Would our hosts like to have the floor?"

Frisk set down his glass. "Certainly." He took Anne's hand and drew her to the middle of the floor for the little show they'd rehearsed. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Duke set down his wine glass and move toward his daughter, only to have Chara put an arm around his shoulders with a dark smile curling his lips.

The middle of the floor opened as the crowd backed away and Frisk drew Anne into the open circle. "So did you enjoy planning this soiree, Dear Lady?"

She leaned into him with a smile. "I did indeed! Do you think the decorations too much?"

"Of course not! Our guests like them, don't they?" Frisk turned to the crowd, getting everyone to voice approval and join in the show. He turned back to Anne. "And did you enjoy planning this party with me?"

Anne whipped out her fan to fan herself. "I did enjoy it." She hid behind the fan. "But then I think I'd enjoy anything if you were involved."

Mock oohs of shock went through the crowd, followed by laughter, as Anne turned, inciting the crowd.

"Well then, Dear Lady! There is another event for which I would love to have your assistance but before I can ask for your help, there is another question, I must ask you instead!"

Anne turned with a smile, still in character. "And what question might that be?"

Frisk took her hand and knelt on knee. "Lady Anna Wharton Koll, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Anne blinked, completely stunned speechless before she finally found her voice. "Yes! Yes!!!" She pulled my brother to his feet and kissed him as the Duchess squeezed my hand. Raucous applause and several hoots filled the ballroom as Frisk slipped the engagement ring on her finger. Anne gasped for a moment, looking as if she might cry, and Frisk pulled her to his chest. Reaching into his vest pocket, he pulled out one of the handkerchiefs she'd embroidered with her own hair for his birthday to help her stem her tears. One look at the little piece of fabric had happy tears falling down her face in an instant. Mary clasped her in a joyful hug, while Anne's older brothers, Deon and Lawrence, shook Frisk's hand.

Duke Koll stormed up to his wife, Chara very leisurely following behind. "If you think for an instant that I'm going to let the wedding happen, you have another thing coming!"

The Duchess' nostrils flared in anger. "I married a man I loved despite his common birth and the serious opposition of my parents. That such a man would be so ignoble as to deny his daughter the same happiness when she is marrying far above her station is such a ludicrous idea that I honestly think the man I married must no longer exist. In which case, should you press this, our marriage will no longer exist."

Duke Koll blinked, and was suddenly very sad. "Oh, Turtledove. You don't mean that, do you?"

"I have had it with your attitude regarding this matter. As a lady of noble lineage, it is my duty to see that my children marry well and Anna has snagged an heir to empire. There is literally no way she can do better! And that they love each other so should mean more to you then the circumstances of his birth."

"But no one has any idea who his parents are!"

"Untrue," I interjected. "The imperial family knows the parentage of the imperial twins and, for matters of national security, those names will remain anonymous." I watched as members of the guard in attendance came forward to congratulate the couple, Miss Luxon hugging Anne tightly and kissing her cheek.

The Duke and Duchess both looked at me, before turning to Chara.

He snorted. "Oh please. Of all the people in this room to ask, I am the least likely to give that information away." He waved the Duke back to his wife. "Hurry up and apologize to Her Grace." He crossed his arms over his chest. "And then go apologize to Anne. You've really made her miserable over all of this."

Duke Koll took a deep breath and held out his hand to the Duchess. She took it, and he led her away to speak quietly before they joined the line to congratulate the couple.

Stephen, Mary, and Cephas appeared next to us.

Stephen elbowed Chara in the side. "You know this makes you the most eligible bachelor in the empire, right?" He indicated a group of young ladies all watching my brother and whispering behind their fans.

Chara groaned. "Oh hell."

I covered my mouth with my hand, but couldn't stifle my chuckle.

"Oh, laugh it up, Fuzzball!"

Stephen snorted, helping Mary remain on her feet while she giggled, and Ceph full out laughed. I rolled my eyes and in doing so caught sight of Duke Koll shaking my brother's hand while the Duchess kissed her beloved daughter's face. Frisk and Anne, having finally made it through the line of well wishers, found their way over to us.

Anne pinched my arm. "You knew, didn't you! You all knew!"

Mary giggled while Stephen and Cephas nodded.

Chara shrugged. "I refuse to confirm or deny what I might have known."

Anne frowned. "I noticed that you didn't come up to congratulate Frisk and I. I swear, Chara, I'm not trying to..." Anne sighed, staring at her feet.

"Oh Anne." He took her hands and hugged her close. "I'm sorry." He stepped back, still holding her hands in his. "I never want you to think that you are, in some way, separating us. I am ecstatic that I will be able to name you my sister in law. You make my brother so happy that if the sun, the moon, and all the stars should go out, he'd still have light because he has you."

Anne smiled and went up on her toes to kiss Chara's cheek.

"Woah. And I thought Frisk was the poetic one," Stephen whispered.

Mary pinched his arm. "Hush."

"Yes, ma'am."

Lord Ghelfi stepped up to us. "I apologize for interrupting, but Lord Durrant has arrived."

We all looked to Cephas. He thought about his response for a moment, watching his mother enjoy a rapt conversation with Elarine, before shrugging. "I rather like my step mother and my half siblings, so I won't snub them."

He turned to go out the door, and we followed. It was a short walk from the grand ball room to the plaza entrance. Lord Adam Durrant, a tall and slender man of severe look and a winter grown beard stubbling his face, was taking off his hat, and looking around the grand lobby of red carpeting, posh seating, and golden appointments. His new wife, a woman with a long mass of dark, curly hair, nervously attempted to corral her three young children as they ran around the lobby, touching everything within reach. The three children spied Ceph first and ran for him.

"Cephas! Cephas!"

The oldest, a young boy who barely looked ten, and the middle child, a girl who looked to be six, hugged him around the waist. The youngest, a three year old girl, reached up to him, and Ceph lifted her. All three of them had their father's pale, brown hair and green eyes, while the girls had also gained their mother's mass of curls.

He gave them a smile. "There's a party going on in the grand ballroom. Would you like to go to it?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Ceph turned to head back to the ballroom and the children caught sight of us.

The boy ran right up to me. "Are you a real monster?"

I caught a look of pure mortification on his mother's face as I knelt. "Yes, I am."

He and his middle sister touched my snout, petting my fur. "Woah. You're really soft!"

I smiled. "Thank you."

His mother ran forward. "Evan! Julia! Come here!" She curtsied to me as she grabbed her son's shoulder. "I am so sorry! Please don't be angry with them!"

"I'm hardly angry. I'm rather amused." I held out my hands and the children took them. "I'm sure you're hungry and there's plenty to eat in the ballroom. Come along."

The woman looked between her Lord husband and I before looking to Cephas. "It's not any trouble, is it?"

"It's fine, Eleanor. Go settle in." Ceph leaned toward her. "My mother has already arrived," he whispered and she nodded just a little too fast. He gave the children a smile and introduced us to his siblings. "As I'm sure you've guessed, my brother is Evan. This is my sister Julia." He hefted the girl in his arms, getting a giggle in return. "And this little gigglemug is Lucy."

Julia looked at everyone, wide eyed. "Are you all princes and princesses?"

Anne smiled and knelt so that Julia would not have to crane her neck to speak to her. "I am Lady Anna. I am not a princess, but I will be after my wedding. This is the Grand Princess Asriel, the Grand Prince Frisk, and the Grand Prince Chara."

She pointed to Frisk. "You're hair is pink on the ends!" She giggled.

Frisk laughed. "That it is!" He held out his hand. "How do you do?"

Julia shook his hand in the way young children did, swinging her arm high up and down low.

Cephas picked up where Anne left off. "This is Lord Stephen and his fiancee, Her Majesty, Queen Mary."

"You have flowers all over you! Are they tattoos? Did getting them hurt?"

Mary shook her head. "These are the Flowers of Nathirna. They live in my skin."

"What nonsense. She's just some common girl who was foolish enough to tattoo herself all over and pass herself off as important. And that the imperial family believes it is a testament to the empire's peril. Though I suppose that if they were willing to take in two orphans of dubious origin, then they'd likely believe anything."

Cephas turned to his father with a look of such utter contempt, I wondered what had happened to our sweet friend. A dark menace filled the entire lobby as his pale eyes began to glow, and the children suddenly clung to their brother fearfully. "How dare you? Just who do you think you are to speak that way? You're a minor lord who dishonored himself and his own loving wife by not only openly cavorting with another woman, but having children with her. And then you come to the Summer Palace and openly insult both a member of the House of Nuada and the Grand Princes, by whose invitation you are welcomed?"

Frisk and Chara straightened, both with the same unnerving expression on their faces, both with the air of true nobles. "We revoke Our invitation."

Lord Durrant took a step back, shocked. My brothers never used the imperial 'we,' choosing instead to meet everyone on equal terms. But the change in Frisk after the Hunt situation had been mirrored in Chara. They were done taking the brunt of insults in the name of peace. Lord Ghelfi and Sir Romik stepped out of the guards' office. Lady Eleanor gasped, looking between her husband and my brothers.

Frisk looked to Ceph for moment before offering his mercy. "The Lady Eleanor and her children are welcome to stay."

Lord Ghelfi put a hand on Lord Durrant's shoulder. "By order of the Grand Princes, you will leave. Now." He spun Ceph's father around and marched him out the door, Sir Romik following.

Mary put a hand on Ceph's shoulder. "You can ease up on the menace a little."

"Huh?" Ceph blinked at her. "Oh. That's not me. That would be the very angry Lord of House Bile. He came in just before my father insulted you."

We looked up to find the Lord observing us. Red flames danced menacingly in the formerly empty sockets of his skull, one clawed hand resting on the white railing of the stairs. Mary hurried to him, and he spoke to her in a low tone as the menace retreated.

Lady Eleanor looked ready to faint away when Anne put an arm around her. "Come along. I'm sure you could use a stiff drink."

Frisk knelt again, offering a hand and sunny smile to Evan and Julia. "There are a lot of children here, including Lord Stephen's little sister. And I'm sure, after being in a carriage all this time, you'd rather be playing."

Tentatively, they took his hands and we walked back to the grand ballroom, Stephen remaining to wait on Mary. When the doors to the ballroom opened, the children gasped in delight. They headed into the crowd, spinning to look at the lights hanging above their heads. Frisk and Chara headed after them, herding them toward the buffet and a bite to eat. Anne sat Lady Eleanor down at a table, spied Amy, and motioned for her to bring over a strong drink. Lady Hope saw us come in and hurried over.

She took Eleanor's hand in hers and touched her face. "Are you all right, Ella? What happened?" She looked around. "Where's Adam?"

Lady Eleanor gratefully accepted the glass of spiced wine Amy brought her. "As predicted, Peri, he made a complete ass out of himself." She drank the wine a little too quickly, before taking Lady Hope's hands in hers. "Oh, Peri! You would have been so proud! Cephas gave his father a tongue lashing worthy of the ages!"

"Frisk and Chara threw him out," Cephas added, with a smile.

Lady Hope placed a hand on her son's head. "You left me a timid boy and when I came to find you, a confident, young man has taken his place." She kissed his cheek before turning to Eleanor. "Would you like me to move to your room to help with the children?"

Lady Eleanor looked immediately relieved. "Yes, please."

She patted Eleanor's hand. "I'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you, Dearest."

I leaned toward Ceph. "They seem on good terms," I whispered.

He nodded. "Eleanor is my mother's cousin, and, despite the strangeness of the situation, they're very close. All things considered, my mother was fine with Eleanor being my father's mistress, and Eleanor was fine with living like a concubine. She and my siblings lived in the house with us. Whenever someone would bring up the inappropriateness of the situation, my mother would wave it off, remarking that she enjoyed having more children in the house. The problems only started when my father started openly insulting my mother and insisting that he wanted to marry Eleanor."

Little Lucy reached out and grabbed my long ear, tugging on it. "Doggy."

Eleanor groaned. "Lucy... I am so sorry, Mademoiselle."

"It's fine," I said and took Lucy from Ceph's arms. "I'm not a doggy. I'm a goat."

"Go-oat."

I smiled. "Close enough!"

Chara and Frisk came back with the children, balancing plates of food for them. As they sat down, little Claire, the Chinese ambassador's children, and the Lord of House Nuada's young daughters sat down with them, all talking excitedly, Chara translating as necessary. Lady Hope came back with plates for Lady Eleanor and herself, and the two set to talking about more pleasant things. Mary and Stephen finally returned, both looking ready for a spin on the dance floor. As the afternoon turned into evening, our guests began to leave the party, each heading for this or that destination in town.

Ceph made his goodbyes to take his family ice skating in the royal gardens. Frisk and Anne headed out with the Duke and Duchess for an evening at the theater. Mary and Stephen joined the Lord of House Bile and his family for a quiet evening in. I sipped a glass of wine as the sun set.

Chara sat next to me, enjoying a mug of hot pear cider. "Have any plans for the evening?"

I shook my head. "I need to speak with Undyne, but after that, no."

"Then why don't we go see the ice sculptures."

I gave him a sly smile. "Do you mean Mom and Dad as well, or just the two of us?"

Chara squeezed my hand with a smile. "Well, I did mean all of us, but if you'd rather have me to yourself for a little..." He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"If I may be so bold, I'd like to have you to myself for a bit."

Sir Romik approached and bowed at the waist. "I apologize for the interruption, but Captain Undyne politely asks if you would see her in the office as soon as possible."

"No apology needed. I needed to speak to her and now is as good a time as any." I squeezed Chara's hand. "I'll stop by your room when I'm done talking to Undyne." He nodded as I stood and followed Sir Romik to the guards' office. Inside the conference room, I found Undyne at the table, arms crossed over her chest, with Richard Saunderson sitting to her right. He stood when I came in and bowed.

Undyne jerked a thumb at him as he sat back down. "You know this guy?"

"We are acquainted." I sat down across from Saunderson. "I take it you have news."

He nodded and pulled out a map of St. Canard with several locations marked. "We know Wessam Bishara is somewhere in the city, but we have no idea where. Worse then that, all of the hideouts that vampires use in town are off."

"What do you mean?" Undyne and I said together.

"Usually you have at least one older and/or more powerful vampire keeping the younger ones in check at every hideout. That's not the case here. Every nest we've cleaned out was filled with young vampires. Not a single one had a vampire that needed a team to take it down. The old ones like Bishara are hiding well and I have no idea where to look for them. I just keep thinking that it must be under our noses, but any other place I can think of to check is also a well secured area."

I sighed. "Then we need to wait for the vampires' next move."

Saunderson leaned forward. "You mentioned that Bishara signed off on antiquities to come to the museum. What did he sign off on?"

"Two mummies. One of a cat and one of a human."

He frowned. "Is the human listed as Menkheperre?"

I frowned. "The paper listed the mummy as Thutmose III, but intelligence we've gathered lists the mummy as Menkheperre."

He nodded. "From what I understand, Menkheperre is one of the forgotten pharaohs. Like Akhenaten, the Ancient Egyptians wanted to erase him from history. He was, from what we've been able to gather, a truly evil individual and wash mummified while still alive."

"Well then, the jokes on Bishara. We x-rayed the mummy. What we actually have is a woman named Meritamen. Does that name ring any bells?"

He shook his head. "With your permission, I'd like a permit to search the St. Canard cistern."

"You haven't been down there already?"

Saunderson sighed. "In truth, we have. And I'm happy to pay the fine for breaking and entering if you wish to have me charged for it. But my team is very small and the cistern is built in such a way as to prevent people from being able to sneak up on anyone else. Anyone down there would hear and see us coming. So while we found evidence of people using the cistern, they escaped before we could determine who they were."

Undyne stood. "I'll round up police officers with vampire experience and coordinate checking the cistern." She motioned to Saunderson. "Come on, hunter. Let's get this show on the road. We're already at a disadvantage needing to do it in full darkness."

Saunderson nodded and stood. He bowed to me before following Undyne out the door. I looked down at the map with all the marked vampire nests. I rolled it up and took it with me as I left the conference room. I knocked on the clerk's door.

"The door's open!"

I went inside to find the clerk buried up to her neck in paperwork. "How far behind are you?"

"Huh?" A very tiny, young woman looked up at me from behind a pair of big, round glasses. "Your Imperial Highness!" She stood to bow and, in doing so, she knocked her papers to the floor. She let out a pained sigh before giving me a smile. "What can I do for you?"

I handed her the map. "I need ten copies of this map."

"You got it!" She hopped over the fallen papers, heading into the back room and the copying machine. I stooped to gather the fallen papers and place them on her desk, taking a moment to look them over. They were security listings for our guests. I placed them back on the desk. She came out a minute later with ten copies of the map and the original. She rolled them up and placed them in a tube before handing them to me.

"Thank you."

The clerk saluted me sharply before stooping to grab the papers, before seeing they were already on her desk. "Thank you!"

I nodded and handed her two copies. "Leave these for Undyne please." The clerk nodded and I left the guards' office, heading up the stairs. I stopped in Anne and Mary's room to place two copies of the map in a secret compartment in Anne's desk. Heading to my brothers' study, I placed two copies in the desk. Stopping in my room, I put two copies in my hidden closet. I then placed one copy and the original in my desk. Grabbing my coat, I left my room, knocking on Chara's door. He opened it, coat over his arm.

"Ready?"

I nodded and handed him a rolled up map. "For you."

He unfurled the paper and looked at the map. "What's this?"

"A map of all the vampire hideouts in St. Canard. I got it off a vampire hunter who's working over the holidays."

Chara looked at me. "Are you sure you don't need Frisk and I?"

I shook my head. "The map is for your use. I put two copies in the desk in your study as well."

Chara nodded and hid the map away in his room before offering me his arm and whisking me away to the ice sculpture display in Briarwood Square.

xxx

The news from the vampire hunter appears to be grim indeed. Where are the vampires hiding? Will Asriel find out before disaster strikes? Find out next week in the exciting conclusion of Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 4!


	9. Mistletoe and Mummies, part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Shipworks is one of my AUs. You can read more about it on the AU Masterlist. Story copyright to me.
> 
> 1\. Rated T for violence and some language.

Ep 5. - Mistletoe and Mummies, Part 4

Welcome back to Steampunk Adventures! In tonight's episode, Asriel, our narrator, awakens to disaster in the palace and a misdirection leads her away from home. Can Asriel, Anne, and Mary still save the day? Find out this and more in the exciting conclusion to 'Mistletoe and Mummies!' 

xxx

I woke the next morning to the sound of children singing Christmas carols outside my door. I threw on a robe and grabbed the basket of little wrapped gifts from the pile of presents on my desk. I opened the door to squeals of delight from the many children, monster and human, who lived or worked in the palace. I knelt to gift them all, giving each of them a present and a kiss on the head.

Amy poked her head in the door. "Anne and Mary have invited you to breakfast. Will you join them or shall I bring in the cart?"

"I will join them. Have my brothers left for the Shipworks?"

She nodded.

"Thank you, Amy. Will you be here tomorrow morning or will you take the day off?"

She giggled. "My family practically lives here! I'll be here tomorrow, but I will be helping Chiko with the cookie party. Breakfast will be in the kitchen tomorrow like every Christmas morning."

"Then wait a moment." I went to the pile of gifts on my desk and plucked hers from the bunch. I handed it to her. "Though I'll see you tomorrow, I may miss you with the gifts. Merry Christmas, Amy."

She hugged me tightly. "Merry Christmas, Azzy!" She stood back. "I left a present for you with Anne and Mary. I hope you like it!"

"I'm sure I'll love it." I kissed her cheek and headed to my ladies' room. Ceph and Stephen, both dressed and ready for the day in dark, winter suits with brightly colored holiday vests sat with Anne and Mary, still in their dressing gowns, all looking well rested. Elarine stood in front of Stephen pinning the Flower Emblem on his suit coat while he patiently waited for her to finish fussing over the placement. I sat next to Mary as she poured me a cup of tea. "How are the lovely brides to be today?"

Anne smiled, giggling a little. "I woke up this morning thoroughly convinced that I'd dreamt the entire thing until I saw the ring on my finger! It's so lovely! Do any of you know when Frisk picked it out?"

"Remember the fair at which the Full Health Machine debutted?"

She sighed. "How could I forget?"

"Your mother joined Frisk for a morning at Rainier's the day before. Though in truth, that was an excuse to take your mother to the jewelers so Simon could get a bead on what she liked. He'd picked out the ring earlier in the summer and only finalized it in front of your mother."

Anne gazed at the ruby ring on her finger. "Of course my mother knew. I'm surprised she kept it under her hair pins all this time."

"Granted that she doesn't live here, so it's easier not to say something when you're far away," Ceph pointed out.

I chuckled and picked up the gift Amy left me. And I was right, I did love it: a lace fan in purple and white. "Oh Amy!" I admired the fan as I sipped my tea. I'd been eyeing one up just like it at the Christmas Market. I wondered if she had her mother's gift or if she'd simply asked Emma for a suggestion. "So, any news on where Lord Durrant went after being evicted?"

Ceph smiled over his tea. "He found a vacancy at Colores downtown and tagged along with us last evening rather sullenly. Emma mentioned that he attempted to come back early this morning under the guise of a matter of state. The guards at the gate refused admittance and informed him of what happened the last time someone openly insulted Frisk. He backed off quickly after that. I sent him a letter saying that we would see him on Christmas day for the opening of the exhibit."

The door was pushed open forcefully and Lady Plant came in the room, looking around in a panic.

"Have any of you seen Claire?"

We all looked at each other before shaking our heads.

"How long as she been missing?" Stephen asked.

"I woke up and her bed was empty. I heard the other children caroling and thought she was roaming with them. But her dress is still hanging in the wardrobe." She put her face in her hands. "Where could she be?"

Stephen put his arms around his mother. "You know Claire, mother. She runs around improperly dressed most days. She likely found some other children and ran off to play. We know the palace well and Asriel better than anyone other than the twins. We'll have a look for them."

Lady Hope and Lady Eleanor bumped into me, Eleanor holding Lucy in her arms. "Have any of you seen Evan or Julia?"

Stephen held out a hand toward them. "See? They made rather fast friends yesterday. They're all likely playing together in one room or another. Head back to your suite and enjoy a nice breakfast. We'll have a look for them."

Cephas stood and kissed his mother's cheek. "I'll check the upper floor." He put an arm around Eleanor. "Go on and finish breakfast. I'll bring Evan and Julia around when I find them."

The Ladies nodded and all headed back to their suites much relieved.

Mary stood. "Give us a few moments to dress and we'll help you search. They've probably found their way to the kitchen and Chiko is stuffing them with pastries as we speak. Anne and I can take the first floor to look."

"Hey, Punks!" Undyne called as she strode down the hall. She motioned everyone into the room and directed us to sit. Being sure that it was only the six of us in the room, she checked the hall and then closed the door behind her. "Last night, several children were taken from the palace. We were able to capture a few of the people involved thanks to the help of the Lord of House Bile. Someone tried to take his son and it didn't go well for the kidnapper. The people we have in custody have refused, even under duress, to say where the missing children have been taken. They only said a ransom would be delivered."

I frowned darkly. "How did this happen?"

"It was a coordinated strike and timed for when the imperial guard would be at it's most lax. It looks as if the kidnappers snuck in to the palace with guests for yesterday's party and hid in various places until everyone was firmly a bed. They entered suites from the interior garden doors, which most guests don't lock at night."

There was a knock at the door and Lord Ghelfi looked in. "The ransom is here."

Undyne nodded and looked to us girls. "Get dressed and be ready for action. I'll meet you all in the conference room in the guards' office." She stood and disappeared out the door with Lord Ghelfi.

Stephen looked to Mary with a sigh. "I truly wish that you weren't so dangerously employed. Just promise me that when we have children that you'll retire from this for a short while. I'm not sure I could take watching you die again." Mary leaned forward and kissed him before giving him a nod. He looked to me. "What's going on and how can Ceph and I be of assistance?"

"The Vampire Illuminati is trying to raise the mummy in the museum exhibit to help them take over the empire."

"Those idiots?" Cephas rolled his eyes. "Oh Lord."

"The more fanatical they are, the less competent they seem." Anne stood. "The older ones, however, are far more clever. Please give us a moment to dress."

They both nodded. "We'll be outside the door when you're ready," Stephen said. He elbowed Ceph. "Let's collect our vampire hunting equipment." Ceph nodded once and they left, closing the door behind them.

"I don't know when it happened, but our sweet Cephas has turned into a real lord," Anne murmured.

Mary put and arm around Anne's waist. "You noticed that too? He used to be so timid, but now he's rather confident. Still just as sweet though."

I went over and pressed the button under the mantle that opened the hidden equipment closet.

"Stop!" Elarine yelled. "I will not let my lady dress so improperly!"

Mary turned to her. "This clothing is made to protect us while we work, Elarine. I can't be in a layered gown."

"I understand that." Elarine opened the trunk by Mary's desk. "That's why I've had something much more useful made for you." She lifted three, dark green dresses from the trunk. "These are made of the same fabric Fae hunters use for their clothing. It is resistant to the elements, will keep you cool when you are hot and warm when you are cold, and will never tear." She helped Mary into one of the dresses. "The front can be drawn up with straps hidden under the skirt and they are made to work with the armor your Lord Father has already gifted you."

Elarine smiled sadly. "If you will not give up this work, at least trust me to keep you well outfitted for it."

Mary pulled Elarine to her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

We finished dressing quickly, outfitting ourselves for hunting. We met Stephen and Cephas outside the door, both ready, and headed down to the guards' office.

A scared looking man with bite marks on his neck sat at the conference table, two guards on either side of him. As soon as he saw me,he went white as a sheet. He held out an envelope. "I'm... I'm supposed to... to give this to... Captain Undyne."

Undyne tore it from his hands and opened it. She read it over before handing it to me. I looked at the letter.

I will return the children when the mummy has arisen tonight under my power.

I handed the letter to Mary and Anne who both read it over with deep frowns before passing it to the boys.

"Did you see the children?" Anne asked.

The man looked like he was trying to answer, but couldn't get words to come out. Mary stood. She reached across the table and gently pressed two fingers to the bite marks on the man's neck. And immediately hit the table, her strength instantly gone as her legs gave way.

"Chou!" Stephen lifted her as she attempted to find her feet.

The bite marks disappeared from the man's neck.

"Oh wow. That took as much," she sucked in a breath, "as healing half the fae injured by the Full Health Machine."

My eyes went wide. "Mary? You're bleeding!"

Mary touched her neck, wiping away the blood to reveal two bite marks, and the flower underneath appeared to be withered, dried out like a blossom preserved.

Stephen helped her into the chair and examined the wound. "That should not have happened. We need to see your Lord Father immediately."

Mary shook her head. "After this is sorted."

Anne gave Mary a worried look, but turned back to the man, who kept touching his neck. "Did you see the children?"

"N-n-n-no."

Undyne took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Someone get the man's statement and then get him medical attention."

A strange and deep warmth filled the room and I turned to see the Lord of House Bile at the door. "I felt the realm of Nathirna open for a moment and then close shut in pain." The empty sockets rested on Mary. He held out a hand to her. "Allow me see the injury."

Mary reluctantly let go of Stephen to push her short hair away from her neck. The bite marks had healed, blood drying, but the flower remained withered.

The expression on his skull face never changed, but you could hear the frown in his voice. "A vampire is anathema to the very existence of the fae. They reject a natural death and the delights of the Other World. The Flowers of Nathirna can hurt a vampire and heal the injuries they cause, but it will put a heavy toll on you. Your life force is now intrinsically bound to the Flowers as the Flowers are bound to Nathirna. A vampire taint cuts a Flower's connection to Nathirna and any harm they sustain, will be grievous for you." He touched the withered flower. "This blossom must be removed or it will infect the others."

Two claws speared Mary's neck and she stiffened. When the hand moved back, the withered flower remained on the claws. The skin of Mary's neck was unblemished, nothing remained of the bite marks. Mary's eyes fluttered shut and she fell into Stephen's arms. He lifted her, holding her against his chest.

The Lord turned to us, the withered bloom still on his claws. "This is filled with the vampire's taint. It maybe used to track your quarry. The spell to do so is easy enough to cast." He looked down at Stephen. "Do not let another vampire come into contact with her, and do not allow her to heal another of a vampire's mark. The bite of a vampire should be left to heal on its own."

Stephen nodded. "I understand."

The Lord stepped up to Cephas and placed the withered bloom in his hand before leaning down to whisper in his ear.

Cephas nodded. "I can do that."

"Good. I must return to my family. Her Majesty is merely exhausted. She will awaken soon." He bowed to us before leaving the room.

Stephen held Mary against his chest and sat down, holding her.

Anne stood. "What's the plan, Asriel?"

I pursed my lips, thinking about it. "Track down the vampire using the flower. Are you good for the spell, Ceph?"

"Of course."

Stephen gently shook Mary. "Wake up, Chou."

Mary very groggily opened her eyes. "What happened?" She sat up suddenly, touching her neck. "The flower!"

Cephas held it out, showing her the dried bloom.

"Oh." She turned away so we would not see her tears. For something she struggled to live with, seeing one of the flowers in such a state appeared to be too much.

Stephen took her hand. "We're going to use it to find the children."

She inhaled deeply and stood, nodding as she wiped at her eyes.

Ceph headed for the door. "I need a compass for this. I will return momentarily."

When Cephas returned, Wilson and Miss Luxon followed him, both ready for vampire hunting. We all leaned forward to watch as Cephas performed the spell. He spoke a short incantation in a language I'd heard the older fae use amongst themselves. The flower turned to dust in one hand and he poured the dust over the compass, coating it. The compass glowed for a moment before the point turned from due North toward the vampire we hoped would have some answers.

"The compass is ready."

We left the guards' office for the plaza. Cephas hopped up front with Mr. Johnson as the carriage pulled up, the rest of us piling in the back. Cephas directed Mr. Johnson into town, taking us to the royal gardens. We left the carriage and followed the compass through the gardens to an all too familiar alley. The spell had led us to the hide out we'd already checked. The one the hunters had destroyed. Hoping against hope for something, I kicked the door in and tromped down into darkness, my eyes glowing against the darkness.

Wilson caught my collar and pulled me back. "Let me go first, Asriel."

I paused just long enough for Wilson to flip his goggles to night vision lenses and followed him down the dark stairs, Cephas behind me with the compass. After Wilson ascertained that the area was clear, I lit it up with fire magic. The room that was just as wrecked as the last time we saw it. My shoulders sank.

"The compass is pointing to the wall." Cephas indicated one particularly large painting of the Madonna and Child.

Anne went over, only to be stopped by Miss Luxon. "Let Wilson and I handle this."

Anne stood back. "We need the vampire alive long enough to answer questions."

Miss Luxon nodded once and approached the painting. Observing it for a moment, she located hinges on one side. Unsheathing a sword, she waited for Wilson to be ready with silver shackles. Counting to three, she pulled the painting from the wall and it swung open like a door. A very unconscious vampire stood upright in the small alcove, its hiding place having kept it safe from the earlier unpleasantness.

Wilson slammed a silver collar around the vampire's neck and wrists so fast that it had no time to react as the silver burned its flesh. The vampire screeched, clawing at its throat for a moment before the shackles snapped shut on its ankles, pulling its arms taut. It hit the floor in a heap and Wilson kicked it onto it's back with one foot.

"Where are the children?" I demanded.

"No where you'll ever find them!"

I took a deep breath and stepped toward him as a sovereign, eyes glowing. "Where are the children?"

The vampire attempted to slink away from me, curling in on itself. "I don't know! I was just told to send the message! I swear!"

"Kill him."

Wilson stepped forward.

"No, wait! I don't know where the kids are but I know where the boss is hiding! He's sleeping in the museum's basement!"

Anne gasped. "The kidnappers didn't leave! They're still inside the palace!"

I went completely cold.

Miss Luxon stepped up to the vampire. "His name?"

"Wessam Bishara."

She plunged a stake into the vampire's chest and he turned to ash. She checked her watch. "It's passed noon and the days are short. Bishara is powerful enough that he can walk during the late afternoon."

I frowned. "The vampire hunters said that all the older, more powerful vampires weren't in the nests with the younger ones."

Anne frowned. "That means they're all at the museum right now and we need to hurry."

Mr. Johnson waited for us with the carriage at street level. We all sat on the edge of our seats, the carriage unable to go fast enough for any of us. Once home, we ran from the plaza directly to the museum, picking up several guards along the way.

I grabbed RG1. "Tell Undyne that the vampires are here and they're in the museum. I need her spears!" He nodded and ran for the palace.

As we entered the lobby, we skidded to a halt as several bitten human minions ambushed us. I lifted my hands to cast when a pale, slender vampire woman, dressed as an Ancient Egyptian princess in white linen, a black wig of long braids, and decorated in gold jewelry, walked into the room, little Claire walking next to her. Claire's rosy cheeks were stained with her tears, a prominent bite mark on her neck. In the child's hands was a very sharp knife. The vampire lifted her hand and Claire lifted the knife over her own chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing.

"You bitch! Let Claire go!" Stephen snarled.

The vampire smiled, fangs white against red lips. "Behave, boy, and your sister just might live." She looked to me and I lowered my hands. "I have waited thousands of years to see my lord and master Menkheperre arise. If you want the children unharmed, you will stand by while he is brought back from the dead." She looked to the minions. "Bring them. Let the Grand Princess bear witness to the end of the Dreemurr Empire and the birth of a new Egypt!"

We were herded into the Barnes Gallery, where the curtains on all windows were closed, creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere. The mummy lay on a table dragged from some storage room. A vampire wearing a white linen loin cloth and leopard pelt over one shoulder stood at the side of the mummy, arms in the air, intoning the spell. Several vampires and minions in white linen surrounded the mummy. Jonas and Fuku were held captive by two vampires to the side. The children were sitting together on the floor, their wrists bound. Julia and Evan sat with the Chinese ambassador's daughter, who, despite being bound, was doing her best to protect her friends.

"Bishara," Miss Luxon breathed, eyes on the vampire in the pelt.

I looked to my right. Cephas was preparing a spell under his breath, his eyes on the children. Mary and Stephen watched the vampire controlling Claire. On my right, Wilson was quietly signalling the guard members. I looked to Fuku and she winked at me. Had she and Jonas played helpless and allowed themselves to be captured? Oh, I wouldn't put it past them. They were boss monsters of considerable power and knowing Fuku, she was simply biding her time.

After what seemed like forever, the mummy in the case began to glow, drawing everyone's gaze. The flesh began to lighten, and fill out. A soft countenance and almond shaped eyes, surrounded by thick black kohl, opened to reveal warm brown irises. The arms came away from the chest, flesh filling in, and wrappings falling as she sat up...

And looked at me.

Bishara stared slack jawed at the lovely woman he'd raised. The other vampires looked amongst each other.

The vampire controlling Claire grabbed Bishara. "This is not Menkheperre! Who is this? What have you done?!"

The mummy stood and walked towards me, an ancient priestess come back to life, the linen wrappings falling away and a shear linen dress appearing out of thin air to cover her form. Though even that left little to the imagination. Once a foot away, Meritamen knelt, arms crossed over her chest. Words I didn't understand flowed from her lips in a melodic voice.

"Oh hail to thee, Great Khnum! The god who makes us all of clay and wraps us in our mothers' wombs. That you have come to see me personally to the solar bark like my ancestors before me is the greatest of honors!" Gerson cackled. "Wahaha! She thinks you're a god, Azzy!"

The old turtle came out from where he hid behind a display. He said something to the mummy which had the her on her feet. Before anyone could react, she lifted her hand and a buzzing filled the air. Millions of locusts crawled from every available nook and cranny, attacking the vampires. Fuku's flames leapt, consuming the vampire that held her as Jonas' feathers, suddenly razor sharp, sliced the head off the vampire holding him. Ceph's eyes glowed brightly, creating a barrier around the children to protect them, and Fuku and Jonas seized the opportunity to send a combined attack at the vampires watching over them. The guard stepped into action, taking out the minions surrounding us, while Anne protected Cephas from distraction.

Stephen and Mary ran for Claire as the vampire controlling her ordered her to use the knife. Tackling the child in a roll, Mary held the knife away. Stephen aimed for the vampire, catching her in the chest with a crossbow bolt. The vampire hissed, eyes still on Claire. The knife, still in Claire's hand, plunged down into Mary's shoulder where it met her neck. Grimacing, Mary touched Claire' neck, healing the bite and freeing her from the vampire's influence. The vampire screamed, the power of Nathirna transferring from the healed bite to the one who'd bitten. Mary collapsed as Stephen finished the vampire off with a swing of his sword, severing her head.

Several vampires rushed me and I stepped back, letting a Shocker Breaker slam into them. Undyne's glowing blue spears appeared out of thin air and rain down precisely, impaling the vampires around the room and turning the younger ones to dust. The older vampires, held immobile where easy pickings for the guard. Bishara, who'd managed to escape the brunt of the attacks, attempted to run for the door, only to have Miss Luxon cut off his head in one smooth movement. Members of the guard grabbed the surviving minions and dragged them away.

"Mary! Mary! Please wake up! I'm so sorry!"

I turned to find little Claire crying next to Mary's unconscious body. The wound caused by the blade had closed, but her breathing was too shallow. Stephen knelt next to Claire and kissed her head. He lifted Mary into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

"Come on, Chou. Wake up."

Anne and I rushed to them, kneeling in front of Stephen. I touched Mary's face and her hair fell back. All of the flowers on her face were fading as I watched, the blooms closing. Anne unbuttoned the neck of her dress, pulling it away from her flesh to reveal the flowers slowly closing as they lost their connection to Nathirna.

"Oh no." I helped Stephen to his feet. Meritamen glided over to us, coming to stand in front Stephen. The melodic voice said something and she placed one hand on Mary's neck over the withering flowers. The melodic voice flowed from her lips again and a soft glow wrapped around her hand. Mary's breathing deepened. When the glow faded, the slow creep of decay had halted. The blooms on her face remained dried out, but no others closed.

Stephen cradling Mary's head against his chest, bowed his head to the mummy. "Thank you."

Meritamen smiled, unsure what he said, but understanding that it was grateful in context. The children, as they were freed from their bonds, rushed over, clamoring to see.

"Oy! Nippers!" Undyne called. The children immediately turned to face her. "Give Lord Stephen room. He needs to take Her Majesty to a fae healer." The children rearranged themselves so as to let Stephen through.

Ceph put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Take her to the Lord of House Bile." Stephen nodded and left, Claire on his heels. Evan, Julia, and a few other of the children attempted to follow.

"Hold up, children! Stay here."

"No!" Claire yelled. "I don't want to leave Mary!"

I sighed. "Very well. You may stay with her until your parents say otherwise. The rest of you will remain."

Ceph hugged Evan and Julia close. They clung to him as he lifted them both. He sighed as he held them, "How am I going to tell your mother where you've been all day?"

Meritamen continued to watch me expectantly. I looked to Gerson. "What do we do with her?"

The old turtle rubbed his chin. "Well, she's looking to go on the 'solar bark' to the afterlife." He winked at me. "I'm pretty sure we can make that happen. Wahaha!"

"What about the spell?"

"Hmm... The spell Bishara used has her up and about for good. I suggest giving her a ride on an air ship and use that time to explain to her that St. Canard is her afterlife."

I looked around. There was no way we were going to be able to keep this quiet with so many children involved. They would talk a storm about the monsters using their powers. Indeed, they were already at it, arguing about which monster had done the most spectacular attack. And it appeared that Undyne's reputation was the one receiving the largest boost. We'd just have to go with having the parents keep everything on the quiet side while the children extolled the virtues of their saviors.

I stood and jerked on Undyne's sleeve. "We won't be able to keep this completely under with the children, so we'll keep the events low key. Report the happenings to my parents. Mom's good at crafting an explanation on the fly and we'll rely on her to do that. Have guards and runners summon the parents to the north ballroom where they can collect their children and have an explanation." I looked at the children. "They'll need to eat. Send a runner to Chiko so we can get them fed."

Undyne bowed her head. "As you wish. But I'll warn you now, Tori's going to have other ideas."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been very eventful while you've been gone. I'll fill you in after you take care of the mummy. Lady Anna and Lord Cephas, please take the children to the north ballroom."

Anne held out her hands. "Come along, little ones." The children arranged themselves in a que and followed Anne out of the museum, Ceph taking up the end to keep stragglers in line. I dug in my pocket and pulled out a telephone. Well, Frisk and Chara assured me it was a telephone. It didn't have a rotary dial or buttons of any sort. It looked rather like a small touch screen that the newest computers used. I sighed and called Chara. He picked up on the first ring.

"Az using the phone? It must be an emergency."

"It is. I need an airship that will make a nice approximation of an Ancient Egyptian Solar Bark."

I could almost see his eyebrows going up. "We've got something that'll work. Shall I come to you?"

"To the plaza, please."

"Frisk and I will be around shortly."

I took a breath and assumed the role of a god, beckoning Meritamen to follow me. I walked slowly to the museum entrance and went through the doors just as the airship _Summer Song_ landed gently in the plaza. The mummy and Gerson followed me on board. Frisk took over the controls so that Chara could join me, lighting the airship up like a glowing beacon against the setting sun. As we flew through the evening and into the night Gerson spoke at length with the mummy.

Chara leaned in to me. "You look far too tired. You know you could have called us any time."

I sighed. "I know. But I sincerely want you and Frisk to have a rest. This year has been too exciting."

He put an arm around me. "So do Frisk and I get a story when we get back to the palace?"

"Always." I booped his cheek with my nose.

Gerson called for Frisk to take us back to the palace and as the ship landed, Meritamen stared at the massiveness of the Summer Palace, dumbstruck. The entire plaza was lit up, casting a glow onto the walls of my home, making it look like a breath of spring in the middle of winter. I suppose she hadn't seen it when we left, looking instead toward the city.

She cast some spell, touching her mouth, before turning to me. "God's home?"

"My home, yes. But I'm not a god."

"Not in this reality, anyway," Chara commented under his breath.

Meritamen shook her head. "I understand that you are not Khnum, but you are related, are you not?"

I was about to deny it and paused, thinking over the many gods and goddesses of her time. Had they simply been powerful monsters? Maybe. "I don't know. Our history is mangled after a certain point."

She thought about this for a moment before gazing at the palace. She turned to me with a bow, both arms crossed over her chest. "May I live in the god's house? I am priestess of some power. I will serve you well."

"You saved the life of a very dear friend. You may stay as long as you like."

She smiled gratefully and followed me down the gangplank.

"How did you do it? How did you heal Mary?"

Meritamen blinked. "Mary? Is that the name of the flower woman? I merely restored her to Ma'at." She continued, but the rest was unintelligible, the spell that gave her the power to use my language giving out.

Chara grabbed my arm. "Is Mary all right?"

"She seems to be."

He frowned. "Once Frisk and I return the ship, we'll get a short cut back." He looked at Meritamen. "You'll need the language help."

"You speak Ancient Egyptian?"

"I speak Coptic and that's the latest iteration of the language." He said something to Meritamen and she responded in the affirmative. We descended to the plaza.

I stared at my beloved for a moment. "How many languages do you speak?"

He smiled and shrugged... just like Sans.

"You have been spending too much time with that bag of bones."

"Now you're mistaking me for mom." He headed back up the gangplank and our 'solar bark' lifted into the air.

Meritamen and Gerson followed me back into the palace. Runners and other palace servants were weaving this way and that through the halls, running back and forth. This was far more than was necessary for what I asked of Undyne. What was my mother up too?

I grabbed David, Emma's oldest son, as he passed. "What's going on?"

"Impromptu party."

I sighed and Gerson laughed. Meritamen looked between us, unsure what to do. I headed to the north ballroom, both in tow. I opened the door and found a huge party underway, the children dancing around the floor as Undyne played the grand piano while Emma's husband, Nathaniel, played the violin. Fuku and Jonas stood back to back, in the middle of the dance floor, unleashing their powers in time with the music. Moving together so as to appear as if they were dancing, Jonas sent feather bullets into the air in an array of patterns and Fuku set them ablaze in a variety of colors, like a series of fireworks. I caught sight of Cephas dancing with little Julia and Anne with little Evan. I did not see Stephen or Mary. I squelched my fear and approached my parents, who stood with several of the ambassadors, speaking quietly.

Anne spied me and handed Evan off to his mother to dance. She practically ran to me, dodging around children on the dance floor. "The Lord of House Nuada, his lady wife, and all the children are here. He didn't explain how he knew, but they all knew that Mary was in danger."

I nodded. "Where is she?"

"In our room."

"I'll go see her in a moment. What's going on here? I said low key."

Anne looked toward my parents. "It turns out that while we were hunting, the vampires were taking hostages in the palace. It's why Undyne wasn't immediately with us. Your Imperial Parents..." She leaned. "They went after the hostage takers themselves. From what Undyne said, we missed a pretty spectacular show while saving the children. That's why the display with Fuku and Jonas over there. Asgore decided to make a display of Dreemurr might in front of the ambassadors."

"Frisk and Chara will be back soon. Keep an eye out for them." I rubbed my head.

Anne took my hand and gently touched my snout. "We haven't eaten since breakfast. Chiko noticed and is setting up dinner for us in the twin's study."

I nodded. "Mary first." I turned and found that the mummy and Gerson were still following me. I paused. "You are not required to follow me everywhere. Why not stay and enjoy the party?"

Gerson smiled wide. "Oh she ain't leaving your side, Fluffybuns! I figured I'd just hang around until Chara got here, since he can translate for her."

"Fluffybuns? I thought that was my father."

The old turtle gave me a wide smile. "As the heir to empire, you're Fluffybuns the Second! Wahaha!"

I looked to the woman who now, very patiently, attended me. "So which Meritamen is she?"

Gerson's smile cracked his face wide. "None of the above! Wahaha!" After his laughter subsided, he continued. "Turns out she was a priestess of Khnum who was successful enough to warrant a burial with all the trimmings. She died pretty young though. Said she was unwell after eating spoiled food." He shrugged. "She seems to understand that she was resurrected, but she isn't grasping just how long it's been. But then, she has a while to get used to the idea."

"I guess so. Well, come along then." I left the ballroom and made my way up the stairs to the second floor. All the fae on staff, and quite a few besides, were gathered outside the room Anne and Mary shared. They parted to let us through.

Mary sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, the green dress having been removed and now clothed in a brown and green dress of many layers, making her appear as if she was of the forest. The withered blossoms on her face and neck had been removed, but the rest moved under her skin softly like they were dancing in a soft breeze. Her Lady Mother and Stephen sat on either side of her. Little Claire sat in her lap, deeply asleep, and tightly holding Mary's hand. All five of Mary's little sisters were curled on her bed, sleeping. The Lords of House Nuada and Bile sat in the over stuffed chairs on either side of the fireplace, speaking quietly with Stephen and Mary. Lord and Lady Plant sat on the love seat next to the couch, listening attentively, while Victirion and Elarine stood near the door, speaking with the fae in the hall.

I stopped next to Elarine. "How is she?"

"Exhausted, probably hungry, but otherwise fine. After the Lord of House Bile removed the dead blooms, we were able to wake her. The Lords are discussing the matter of what to do with the blooms." She held a decanter of cut crystal, the dried Flowers of Nathirna resting inside. She frowned as she looked at them.

I nodded and stepped up next to Stephen. I bowed to the Lords as they acknowledged me. "I apologize that the events of the day have pulled you from your home, my Lord."

The Lord of House Nuada shook his head, his long, white hair rustling like leaves in the wind. "My daughter was at Death's door. I can be no where else."

I blinked. "How did you know?"

The Lord of House Bile answered. "Fae families are deeply aware of the needs of their kin. Mary being so close to death was enough to send them flying to her."

I looked at Mary's Lord Father and saw the fear hidden behind his eyes. Realization hit me like a brick. The noble family of House Nuada remembered that Mary had died once before... _because they'd all felt it_. It was why her sisters clung to her when she visited, begged her to stay longer, why her brother would watch over her protectively. Why the Lord had given gifts meant to protect her while her Lady Mother would send her little invitations to do anything and everything. They were trying to keep her near and safe.

All while Mary worried that she was over staying her welcome, carefully tip-toeing through a minefield that didn't exist.

The Lord's gaze fell on Mary. "She willingly sacrifices herself for the lives of others and while that terrifies me, I am very proud to call her my daughter."

Mary blushed at the praise, her Lady Mother hugging her shoulders tightly.

"How was the infection halted?" The Lord of House Bile asked.

I turned and found Meritamen watching the Fae Lords with great fascination. "This is Meritamen, the mummy the vampires raised, though she wasn't the one they meant to bring back from death. When I asked, she said that she restored Mary to Ma'at."

Gerson spoke up. "It means she restored Mary to balance by removing the vampiric infection. The taint of a vampire is considered a source of chaos and anathema to the ancient people of Egypt. Ma'at, both as a concept and a personification, restored order and regulated that order to keep chaos at bay."

My brothers came in the room, followed by Anne and Cephas, both stopping to look at Mary before bowing to the Fae Lords.

Frisk faced me, eyes full of concern. "She's missing flowers!"

I nodded. "It's been a long day."

"You haven't eaten. None of you have," Chara observed. He looked to the Fae Lords. "Please join us for dinner in our study."

The Lords looked at each other for a moment in some silent conversation before they both stood. "We accept your invitation."

Stephen stood and Mary laid Claire on the couch, carefully covering her with a soft blanket. He offered Mary his hand. "Chou?"

"Oh please stop calling her that!" Elarine complained.

Stephen glanced at the House Lir fae. "No."

The Lord offered his hand to his Lady Wife and it was distinctly like watching to trees caress as she took it. After asking Sir Almon to stay and watch over the children while they slept, I let my brothers lead me to their study. Meritamen followed behind, though we seemed to have lost Gerson somewhere. Frisk opened the door and the most delicious smell of roasted turkey perked me up.

Chiko's ears went up when she saw us and her arms opened. "You missed lunch and tea, so I was sure you'd all be rather famished. Tonight's menu consists of roasted pheasant with dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted vegetables, sweet potato pie, plum pudding, gingerbread cookies and soup." She lifted a kettle with a potholder and poured the hot liquid into the mugs on the table. "And to help you all sleep tonight, some hot brandy and rum punch."

"As always, Chiko, you are amazing," I said.

Emma finished laying out the extra places on table while Amy placed extra chairs. We all sat to dine, Anne recounting the events of the day between long awaited bites of dinner. As promised, the hot brandy and rum punch had us most sleepy when dinner ended. I sent Emma to turn down a guest room for the Lord of House Nuada and his family as Anne fell asleep with her head on Frisk's shoulder. He carried her off to bed, Mary and Elarine following behind. Lady Plant hurried after her future daughter in law, taking Mary's hand in hers and whispering to her as they went out the door.

Lord Plant sighed and stood to bow. "Thank you." He patted Stephen's shoulder before following his wife.

When Emma returned to report the room was ready, Victirion offered his hand to his mother and escorted her away while the Lords excused themselves, still deep in conversation.

Ceph jerked on Stephen's sleeve. "Are you all right?"

He let out a long breath. "Just trying not to remember the first time I saw her die." He lifted the mug of hot punch and finished it before he stood. "Tomorrow is a busy day. Ready to turn in?" Ceph nodded and they excused themselves.

Chara nodded to my right and I noticed that Meritamen had fallen asleep in her chair. "Looks like you have a new lady in waiting." He chuckled at my tired sigh.

I leaned against him and noticed that it was snowing lightly on the interior garden. "What time is it, Chara?"

He pulled out his pocket watch. "Midnight." He kissed my cheek. "Merry Christmas."

xxx

And this concludes 'Mistletoe and Mummies!' Stay tuned for future episodes of Frisk and Chara's 'Steampunk Adventures!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: If you've read to this point and haven't forgotten that I never said what Chara's gift was, it made it's appearance in the original draft of this part of the episode but was later cut. Chara's gift is a hand bound book made of envelopes and in each envelope is a note to read when she feels sad, lonely, depressed, etc.


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